• 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

John  McConnell 


A  3KET  CJf 


tef    l^limbt^is?   ^llj&Av«-j'sKn 
fr       -SS/ffrnj^    i!**Mi& 


THE    BATTLE 


OF 


GROTON  HEIGHTS: 


A  COLLECTION  OF  NARRATIVES,  OFFICIAL  REPORTS, 
RECORDS,  ETC. 


STORMING  OF  FORT  GRISWOLD, 


THE  MASSACRE  OF  ITS  GARRISON,  AND  THE  BURNING  OF  NEW 

LONDON  BY  BRITISH  TROOPS  UNDER  THE  COMMAND 

OF  BRIG.-GEN.  BENEDICT  ARNOLD, 


ON  THE  SIXTH  OF  SEPTEMBER,  1781. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES. 

•  \j^ 
BY  WILLIAM  \V.'  HARRIS. 

(I 

ILLUSTRATED    WITH  ENGRAVINGS  AND   MAPS. 

REVISED  AND  ENLARGED,  WITH  ADDITIONAL  NOTES, 

BY  CHARLES    ALLYN. 


"Zebulon  and  Naphtali  were  a  people  that  jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high  places 

of  the  field."  —  Judges,  5  Chapt.  iS  Perse. 

[Inscription  on  Monument.] 


NEW  LONDON,  CT. : 

CHARLES    ALLYN. 
1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

WILLIAM  W.  HARRIS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

Copyright,  iSSi, 
BY  CHARLES  ALLYN. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge : 
Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  and  Company. 


'TFT 


CONTENTS. 


PACE 

PREFACE 6,  7 

PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  EDITION  OF  1870 9 

INTRODUCTION n 

BURNING  OF  NEW  LONDON,  FROM  CONNECTICUT  GAZETTE,  SEP 
TEMBER  10,  1781 17 

LIST  OF  KILLED,  FROM  CONNECTICUT  GAZETTE,  SEPTEMBER  21, 

1781 22 

LIST  OF  BUILDINGS  BURNED,  FROM  CONNECTICUT  GAZETTE,  OC 
TOBER  12,  1781 ...  24 

NARRATIVE  OF  RUFUS  AVERY 29 

NARRATIVE  OF  STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD 47 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD       ...  58 

NARRATIVE  OF  JOHN  HEMPSTED 61 

NARRATIVE  OF  THOMAS  HERTELL 70 

EXPERIENCE  OF  JONATHAN  BROOKS 74 

NARRATIVE  OF  AVERY  DOWNER,  M.  D 83 

NARRATIVE  OF  MAJOR  GEORGE  MIDDLETON           ....  89 

BRITISH  ACCOUNT  OF  BATTLE,  FROM  RIVINGTON'S  GAZETTE      .  94 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  ARNOLD'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT       ...  98 

RETURN  OF  BRITISH  KILLED  AND  WOUNDED      ....  105 

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  UPHAM  TO  GOVERNOR  FRANKLIN      .        .  108 

COURT-MAKTIAL  OF  MILITIA  OFFICERS 113 

FROM  CONNECTICUT  ARCHIVES 118 

APPROPRIATIONS  OF  FIRE  LANDS 147 


021 


4  Contents. 


PAGE 

GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL'S  LETTER 162 

FORT  GRISWOLD 172 

MONUMENTAL  RECORDS 180 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES          . 212 

PERFECTED  LIST  OF  KILLED 266 

PERFECTED  LIST  OF  WOUNDED  AND  PRISONERS     ....  269 

APPENDIX 275 

SERMON  BY  REV.  E.  W.  BACON 295 

CENTENNIAL 300 

Centennial  Committee 303 

Centennial  Celebration .        .  316 

Poem  by  Mrs.  Rose  Terry  Cooke        ......  325 

Oration  by  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley 334 

Address  by  General  Sherman 360 

Address  by  John  T.  Wait,  M.  C 362 

Poem  by  Rev.  Leonard  W.  Bacon 366 

Military  Parade 370 

Pyrotechnic  Display     .         .         . 372 

Nathan  Hale  Memorial  Day 373 

Procession 373 

Oration  of  Edward  Everett  Hale 375 

Appendix  B. 392 

INDEX  TO  INDIVIDUAL  NAMES 395 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


SKETCH  OF  NEW  LONDON  (Frontispiece).     From  Faden  Collection. 

OLD  MILL,  BUILT  IN  1650 24 

OLD  WAREHOUSE  ON  BEACH  STREET 27 

HELIOTYPE  REPRODUCTION  OF  A  PORTION  OF  AVERY'S  NARRA 
TIVE         44 

PORTRAIT  OF  STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD 57 

HELIOTYPE  REPRODUCTION  OF  A  PORTION  OF  JOHN  HEMPSTED'S 

NARRATIVE 69 

PORTRAIT  OF  BENEDICT  ARNOLD 98 

PLAN  OF  FORT  GRISWOLD.     From  Faden  Collection        .        .        .  172 

BATTLE  MONUMENT 178 

OLD  FIRST  BURYING  GROUND,  NEW  LONDON         .        .        .        .181 

LEDYARD  MONUMENT 186 

TOMBSTONE  CUTS 187 

PORTRAIT  OF  PHILIP  TURNER,  M.  D 216 

PORTRAIT  OF  CHARLES  ELDREDGE,  JK.                    ....  242 

HELIOTYPE  OF  OLD  AVERY  HOUSE 256 

UNION  SCHOOL-HOUSE 378 


IN  the  History  of  Connecticut,  written  by  "  A  gentleman  of  the  prov 
ince"  (Rev.  Samuel  A.  Peters),  and  printed  in  1781,  are  many  things 
which  show  that  this  Colony  was  filled  very  early  with  revolutionary  sen 
timents,  and  became  an  object  of  extreme  hostility  among  the  British. 
He  says  that  Governor  Trumbull  wrote  a  letter  April  28,  1775,  to  General 
Gage,  at  Boston,  from  which  he  quotes  as  follows  :  "  But  at  the  same 
time,  we  beg  leave  to  assure  your  Excellency  that,  as  they  [the  people  of 
this  Colony]  apprehend  themselves  justified  by  the  principles  of  self-de 
fence,  so  they  are  most  firmly  resolved  to  defend  their  rights  and  privi 
leges  to  the  last  extremity  ;  nor  will  they  be  restrained  from  giving  aid  to 
their  brethren,  if  any  unjustifiable  attack  is  made  upon  them."  He  adds, 
of  the  Colony  :  "  They  had  commissioned  Motte  and  Phelps  to  draft  men 
from  the  militia  .  .  .  for  a  secret  expedition  which  proved  to  be  against 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;  and  the  treasurer  of  the  Colony,  by  order 
of  the  Governor  and  Council,  had  paid  .£1,500  to  bear  their  expenses." 
After  these  remarks  he  adds  :  "  Thus  did  Connecticut,  from  its  hot-bed 
of  fanaticism  and  sedition,  produce  the  first  indubitable  overt  act  of  high 
treason  in  the  present  rebellion,  by  actually  levying  war,  and  taking,  vi 
et  armis,  the  King's  forts  and  stores  ;  AND,  MOST  PROBABLY  ITS  OBSTI 
NACY  WILL  RENDER  THIS  THE  LAST  OF  ALL  THE  REVOLTED  STATES  TO 
ACKNOWLEDGE  THE  SUPREMACY  OF  PARLIAMENT." 

Though  Peters  has  not  been  accepted  as  good  historical  authority,  this 
shows  such  a  knowledge  of  the  spirit  of  the  people  that  the  account  of 
Ihis  fight  against  almost  hopeless  odds  seems  but  the  fulfilment  of  his 
prophecy. 


PREFACE. 


A§  will  be  seen  by  the  dates,  these  different  narratives  were 
called  forth  by  the  interest  freshly  awakened  in  this  event  by  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone,  building,  and  dedication  of  the  Groton 
Heights  Monument.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  thorough  meas 
ures  were  not  taken  at  that  time  to  preserve  for  future  generations 
more  of  the  instances  of  self-sacrifice  and  heroic  devotion  to  duty 
on  the  6th  of  September,  1781.  Many  of  these  are  now  forever 
lost  to  the  world. 

The  interest  again  awakened  by  the  approaching  centennial  seems 
to  call  for  an  effort  to  supply  as  far  as  possible  the  omission  of  the 
past  by  a  gathering  together  of  all  the  facts  now  obtainable,  relating 
to  the  old  Fort  Griswold  and  its  defenders,  both  those  who  were  so 
fortunate  (since  all  must  die)  as  to  give  up  life  in  so  glorious  a  cause 
and  in  so  eminent  a  position,  and  these  who,  equally  accepting  the 
risks  of  battle  and  doing  their  utmost  in  defence  of  home  and 
country,  were  more  fortunate  in  living  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their 
labors,  in  the  freedom  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.  I  have  here 
endeavored  to  embalm  the  names  of  all  who  were  willing  to  risk 
their  lives  on  that  6th  of  September  in  defence  of  their  country  by 
resisting  the  attack  on  New  London  and  Groton. 

The  names  of  only  a  part  of  the  wounded  or  killed  have  ever 
before  appeared  in  any  printed  list,  while  no  effort  has  been  made 
to  give  the  names  of  those  carried  away  prisoners.  These  omis 
sions  I  have  endeavored  to  supply,  and  in  this  effort  I  have  been 
greatly  aided  by  the  now  prevalent  interest  so  deeply  awakened  in 
the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county,  and  particularly  among 
•.he  descendants  of  the  heroic  dead.  I  have  also  been  assisted  in 
my  work  by  the  collections  of  the  New  London  County  Historical 
Society,  the  Connecticut  and  New  York  Historical  Societies,  the 
custodians  of  ihc  Archives  of  our  State,  and  the  Commissioner  of 


8  Preface. 

Pensions  at  Washington.  The  cordial  good-will  of  many  of  our 
citizens  has  brought  me  family  traditions,  old  letters  and  papers, 
beside  calling  my  attention  to  other  treasures  which  I  could  exam 
ine.  I  have  been  almost  universally  kindly  received,  welcomed, 
and  heartily  encouraged.  The  narrative  of  Thomas  Hertell  has 
never  been  in  print  before ;  the  manuscript  was  given  to  me,  but  the 
gentleman  who  knew  about  him  is  dead,  and  I  can  get  no  informa 
tion  of  who  he  was,  but  have  no  doubt  he  was  of  the  family  to 
whom  "John  Kartell  "  belonged,  whose  workshop  on  Main  Street 
was  among  those  burned  by  the  enemy.  Several  persons  of  the 
name  of  Hertell  are  buried  in  the  old  burying  ground.  The  nar 
rative  of  Major  George  Middleton,  first  gathered  from  a  local  news 
paper,  was  kindly  furnished  by  his  kinsman,  Rev.  John  C.  Middle- 
ton,  now  rector  of  St.  Paul's,  Glen  Cove,  N.  Y.  The  publication 
of  this  work  in  1870,  by  W.  W.  Harris,  was  the  first  attempt  to  give 
a  complete  and  perfect  account  of  this  battle,  and  of  the  destruc 
tion  of  our  town,  and  is  the  basis  of  the  present  work,  which  con 
tains  more  than  twice  the  matter  of  the  old  edition.  The  criticism 
which  every  new  book  receives  may  serve  to  bring  to  light  incidents 
and  family  traditions  that  have  escaped  me. 

Let  not  the  worthy  deeds  of  our  ancestors  pass  out  of  mind. 

A. 

NEW  LONDON,  July,  1881. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

TO    EDITION    OF    1870. 


THE  actors  in  the  bloody  scene  at  Groton  and  New  London,  on 
the  6th  of  September,  1781,  have  long  since  been  gathered  to  then 
fathers,  and  those  who  with  boyish  awe  heard  its  vivid  recollections 
from  their  lips  are  becoming  aged  and  fast  following  them.  A  fear 
that,  as  with  each  year  the  event  receded  into  the  past,  the  details 
would  become  more  dim,  until  all  that  remained  of  its  features 
would  be  the  outlines  in  the  nation's  history,  led  to  the  attempt,  as 
far  as  possible,  of  gathering  all  information  upon  the  subject  with 
a  view  to  its  preservation. 

It  is  true  that  valuable  and  interesting  accounts  of  this  event  have 
been  given  to  the  public,  but,  with  the  exception  of  Rathbun's  edi 
tion  of  Hempstead's  and  Avery's  Narratives  (published  in  1840  and 
now  virtually  out  of  print),  they  are  embodied  in  large  and  expen 
sive  volumes  of  extraneous  history,  which  by  many  would  be  thought 
too  costly.  A  farther  reason  for  publishing  this  work  was,  that  all 
histories  before  published  are  but  partial  ;  extracts  from  reports 
and  narratives  are  given,  but  a  full  and  complete  collection  of  all 
papers  bearing  upon  the  subject  has  never  been  made. 

The  writer  felt  that  its  importance  in  history,  particularly  in  that 
of  his  own  town  and  State,  warranted  a  full  account  in  a  volume 
especially  devoted  to  the  purpose  ;  a  conviction  strengthened  by 
expressions  of  approval  from  friends  in  whose  opinions  he  has  great 
confidence.  The  plan  of  publication  has  been  to  present  the  reader 
with  the  contemporaneous  accounts  as  given  by  each  side  in  order 
to  allow  him  to  draw  his  own  conclusions  regarding  the  event.  To 
carry  out  this  plan  fully  it  is  necessary  to  publish  what  it  is  feared 
will,  to  some,  appear  dry,  uninteresting  details,  yet  which  are  indis 
pensable  to  a  complete  work  ;  for  example,  the  reports  of  the  Court 
Martial  and  the  Memorial  from  citizens  of  New  London  to  the 


io  Prefatory  Note. 

Governor  and  Council  of  Safety,  which,  although  they  add  no  new 
facts  of  interest  to  the  action  proper,  throw  much  light  upon  the 
actual  condition  of  New  London  for  defence  at  that  time,  and  re 
lieve  the  reputation  of  an  officer  from  an  unjust  imputation  which 
has,  from  public  ignorance  in  the  matter,  clouded  it  to  the  present 
day. 

The  narrative  of  the  late  Jonathan  Brooks,  and  especially  that  of 
the  quaint  John  Hempstecl,  showing  the  serio-comic  side  of  the 
tragedy,  will,  in  their  amusing  truthfulness,  it  is  thought,  more  than 
compensate  for  the  barrenness  and  dry  detail  inseparable  from  of 
ficial  reports. 

These  narratives,  as  also  that  of  Dr.  Downer,  have  never  before 
been  published.  In  all  of  them  the  peculiar  orthography  of  the 
authors  has  been  scrupulously  preserved,  as  an  attempt  to  change 
to  our  modern  style  might,  in  some  cases,  also  alter  the  sense  from 
that  intended.  In  the  preparation  of  the  notes  in  the  text  great 
care  has  been  taken  to  make  no  statement  as  positive  in  which  there 
is  the  least  shade  of  doubt ;  when  made  by  extract  the  authority  is 
given  ;  and  when  suggested  by  probabilities  it  is  so  expressed. 

H. 

NEW  LONDON,  July,  1870. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IN  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1781  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces 
in  North  America,  became  apprised,  by  intercepted 
letters,1  written  by  Washington,  of  a  meditated  attack 
upon  New  York  by  the  allied  French  and  American 
forces.  Acting  on  this  information,  he  called  to  his 
aid  a  considerable  portion  of  the  "  Army  of  the  South," 
under  Cormvallis. 

On  this  fact  becoming  known  to  Washington,  he  im 
mediately  reversed  his  entire  plan  of  proposed  opera 
tion,  and  determined  to  fall  upon  Cornwallis  with  an 
overwhelming  force  before  Sir  Henry  Clinton  should 

1  To  what  extent  Washington  was  surprised  and  annoyed  by  the  capt 
ure  of  these  letters  may  be  judged  by  the  extract  given  below,  taken  from 
his  letter  of  July,  1788,  to  Hon.  Noah  Webster,  now  in  possession  of  Gor 
don  L.  Ford,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  from  which  he  has  permitted  me 
to  copy :  — 

..."  I  only  add  that  it  never  was  in  contemplation  to  attack  New 
York  unless  the  garrison  should  first  have  been  so  far  degarnished  to 
carry  on  the  southern  operations  as  to  render  our  success  in  the  siege  of 
that  place  as  infallible  as  any  future  military  event  can  ever  be  made. 
.  .  .  That  much  trouble  was  taken  and  finesse  used  to  misguide  and  be 
wilder  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  regard  to  the  real  object,  by  fictitious  com 
munications,  as  well  as  by  making  a  deceptive  provision  of  Ovens,  Forage 
&  Boats  in  his  neighborhood,  is  certain.  Nor  were  less  pains  taken  to 
deceive  our  own  Army  ;  for  I  had  always  conceived,  when  the  imposition 
did  not  completely  take  place  at  home,  it  could  never  sufficiently  succeed 
abroad."  , 


1 2  Introduction. 

be  able  to  amend  his  mistake  by  reinforcing  the  Earl. 
Washington  gladly  adopted  a  movement  in  which  the 
prospects  were  good  of  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  the 
American  arms  in  the  South,  which,  under  command 
of  General  Greene,  had,  except  in  two  or  three  unim 
portant  skirmishes,  been  disastrous  during  the  cam 
paign  of  that  year. 

To  completely  distract  the  attention  of  Sir  Henry 
from  his  true  design,  Washington,  while  vigorously 
perfecting  his  plans  of  organization,  preserved  a  formi 
dable  appearance  of  design  against  New  York.  Count 
de  Grasse,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  France  with 
a  powerful  naval  force,  was  ordered  to  the  Chesapeake, 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  an  allied  army  which  had 
quietly  been  withdrawn  from  the  North  and  despatched 
to  that  point.  So  discreetly  and  with  so  much  se 
crecy  was  this  important  movement  conducted  that 
Sir  Henry  was  not  aware  of  it  until  too  late  to  pre 
vent,  by  reinforcements,  its  probable  disastrous  conse 
quences  upon  his  lieutenant. 

On  acquaintance  with  the  fact,  and  realizing  the  im 
possibility  of  strengthening  Cornwallis  in  time,  he  re 
solved,  as  a  last  resort,  to  send  an  expedition  against  a 
Northern  port  still  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 

By  this  measure  he  hoped  to  induce  Washington  to 
recall  either  the  whole  or  a  great  part  of  his  expedition 
in  order  to  protect  the  threatened  point.  A  strong 
American  army  of  observation  still  menaced  New 
York,  and  he  therefore  could  not  prudently  withdraw 
from  its  defence  a  sufficient  force  to  make  the  attempt 
on  a  distant  or  strongly  fortified  point;  yet  at  the  same 
time  it  was  necessary  that  the  point  attacked  and  the 
apparent  consequence  of  its  fall  should  be  of  sufficient 
importance  to  divert  Washington  from  his  descent  on 
Cornwallis. 


Introduction.  1 3 

New  London,  above  all  others,  appeared  the  proper 
point.  Its  deep  and  capacious  harbor,  in  the  event  of 
a  permanent  lodgment,  would  be  unequalled  as  a  sta 
tion  and  rendezvous  for  the  immense  naval  force  ex 
pected  from  England  in  the  following  spring.  It  was 
within  a  few  hours'  sail  of  New  York,  and  in  case  the 
attack  upon  it  should  be  unsuccessful  the  retreat  would 
be  open  and  safe.  From  its  port  swarmed  the  dreaded 
privateers,  which,  while  by  their  captures  they  furnished 
the  rebels  with  stores  and  munitions  with  which  to 
continue  the  war,  at  the  same  time  cut  off  the  supplies 
and  weakened  the  royal  armies'  powers  of  offence.  By 
the  capture  of  the  harbor  their  great  rendezvous  would 
be  broken  up.  Beside  these  very  strong  reasons  were 
others  no  less  important.  Should  its  reduction  be  fol 
lowed  by  permanent  occupation  it  would  open  a  most 
favorable  route  for  the  invasion  of  Central  New  Eng 
land,  for  a  large  portion  of  which  it  was  the  natural 
port.  In  addition  to  all  other  incentives  for  its  attack 
was  the  rich  prospect  of  immediate  plunder.  At  this 
time  the  accumulation  of  captured  military  and  other 
stores  here  was  immense,  the  cargo  of  the  merchant 
ship  Hannah  alone  being  valued  at  four  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars.  The  fortifications  were  comparatively 
small  and  inefficiently  garrisoned.  The  regular  garri 
sons  consisted  nominally  of  one  company  of  artillery 
and  one  of  infantry  in  each,  —  Fort  Trumbull  on  the 
west  or  New  London  side,  and  Fort  Griswold  on  the 
opposite  or  Groton  side,  of  the  river.  A  small  battery 
on  Town  Hill,  known  as  Fort  Nonsense,  was  manned 
by  detachments  from  Trumbull.  Captain  Adam  Shap- 
ley  commanded  the  artillery,  and  was  senior  officer  of 
the  latter  fort.  William  Latham  was  captain  of  artil 
lery,  and  Oliver  Coit  of  infantry,  at  Fort  Griswold. 


14  Introduction. 

Colonel  William  Ledyard  commanded  the  military  dis 
trict,  comprising  the  towns  of  New  London  and  Gro- 
ton,  the  harbor  and  its  defences. 

At  this  time  the  garrisons,  which  were  very  seldom, 
if  ever,  full,  were  especially  depleted ;  most  of  the  men 
who  were  capable  of  bearing  arms  were  either  in  the 
armies  operating  in  the  field,  or,  as  was  more  generally 
the  case,  were,  by  the  force  of  habit  and  the  associ 
ations  of  a  people  peculiarly  maritime,  drawn  into 
either  the  public  or  private  naval  service.1 

All  these  advantages  for  attack  being  offered  by 
New  London,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  decided  to  equip 
a  force  with  all  possible  despatch  for  its  reduction. 
Arnold  had  just  returned  from  a  predatory  incursion 
on  the  Southern  coasts,  and  his  success  on  that,  no  less 
than  his  peculiar  fitness  for  this  expedition  to  the 
neighborhood  of  his  early  home,  induced  the  command- 
er-in-chief  to  intrust  its  conduct  to  him.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  intention  of  the  enemy  was  to  enter  the 
harbor  at  night,  and  in  the  surprise  seize  the  shipping 
and  forts,  make  the  garrisons  prisoners,  and,  after 
making  themselves  masters  of  the  town,  load  their 
transports  with  the  rich  plunder,  and  despatch  them 
with  the  captured  vessels  to  New  York. 

All  this  the  enemy  reasonably  supposed  could  be  ac 
complished, —  the  sloops-of-war  brought  before  the  town 

1  In  the  State  archives  at  Hartford  is  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  of 
1787,  by  Amos  Prentice,  Peter  Avery,  and  Robert  Allyn,  selectmen  of  the 
town  of  Groton,  asking  remission  of  a  fine  of  £fx>  for  being  four  men 
short  on  the  town's  quota  of  1781  :  for  the  reason  it  was  not  possible  to 
enlist  them  before  September  6,  so  many  being  already  in  service,  on  the 
seas  and  in  the  sea-coast  defence,  and  "  on  said  day  about  70  men  were 
killed  and  many  wounded  and  carried  away  prisoners." 

There  was  "allowed  only  such  remission  of  the  fine  as  would  come  out 
of  sufferers  who  have  had  taxes  abated." 


Introduction.  1 5 

and  the  forts  garrisoned  by  British  soldiers  before  the 
alarm  could  be  given  by  the  inhabitants.  When  once 
in  possession,  the  holding  of  the  forts  and  town  by 
these  disciplined  troops,  with  their  facilities  for  commu 
nicating  with  New  York,  against  the  untrained  militia, 
would  be  a  matter  of  comparative  ease.  In  case  the 
capture  did  not  recall  Washington,  a  safe  base  from 
which  to  make  an  invasion  of  New  England  would  be 
secured.  On  the  afternoon  of  Sept.  4th  the  fleet  of 
transports  and  sloops-of-war,  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  Beazley  in  the  Amphion,  weighed  anchor,  and 
under  easy  sail  proceeded  with  a  fair  wind  down  the 
Sound  toward  its  objective  point.  On  the  following 
day,  the  5th,  at  two  P.  M.,  it  came  to  anchor  under  Long 
Island  shore,  directly  across  from  and  within  about 
thirty  miles  of  New  London.  The  reason  of  this  de 
lay  was  to  avoid  appearing  off  New  London  before 
darkness  should  cover  their  approach.  Thus  far  all 
had  apparently  tended  to  the  enemy's  advantage,  but 
now  they  miscalculated  on  the  continuance  of  the 
wind  in  their  favor.  Along  the  New  England  coast, 
during  the  summer  and  early  autumn,  —  with  a  regu 
larity  almost  unbroken,  except  by  storms,  —  the  wind, 
soon  after  twelve  o'clock,  M.,  commences  to  blow  from 
the  south  and  west,  gradually  decreasing  in  force,  until 
at  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when,  after  a 
short  period  of  rest  (like  the  turning  of  the  tide),  it 
begins  to  blow  from  the  north  and  west,  in  which  di 
rection  it  continues  until  at  not  far  from  eleven  A.  M., 
when  it  is  succeeded  by  a  calm,  followed  by  a  south 
erly  breeze. 

The  British  officers  calculated  on  this  south  wind 
continuing  as  usual,  and  by  availing  themselves  of  it, 
expected  to  arrive  off  the  town  at  from  about  mid- 


1 6  Introduction. 

night  to  an  hour  later.  They  accordingly  weighed 
anchor  at  seven  P.  M.,  not  doubting  that  the  five  or  six 
miles  an  hour  required  to  reach  New  London  by  the 
appointed  time  would  be  easily  accomplished.  In  this 
they  were  disappointed.  The  south  wind  died  away, 
and  was  succeeded  by  that  from  the  north  nearly  two 
hours  earlier  than  usual ;  so  that  by  beating,  the  fleet 
was  just  able  to  arrive  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  —  some  four  or  five  hours 
after  it  had  been  observed  from  the  forts,  and  its  ap 
proach  heralded  to  the  startled  country  by  the  alarm 
guns.  As  soon  as  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  enemy 
were  manifest,  Colonel  Ledyard  repaired  to  New  Lon 
don,  and  despatched  expresses  to  Governor  Trumbull 
at  Lebanon  and  the  various  militia  commanders  in  the 
neighboring  towns,  apprising  them  of  his  danger,  and 
soliciting  aid  in  making  a  stand  in  defence  of  their 
homes  and  the  honor  of  their  country.  He  then  re- 
crossed  the  river  to  Fort  Griswold,  and  prepared,  so 
far  as  his  limited  means  would  allow,  to  meet  the  storm 
which  he  saw  was  inevitable.  .  .  .  We  have  now  ar 
rived  at  the  point  in  the  history  of  that  eventful  day  at 
which  begins  the  graphic  description  of  its  bloody 
scenes  by  participants.  As  it  is  no  part  of  the  plan  of 
this  work  to  give  a  new  version  of  the  battle,  but 
rather  to  preserve  the  old,  these  introductory  remarks 
properly  close  here,  and  give  place  to  the  story  as  re 
lated  by  eye-witnesses  and  their  contemporaries. 


AN   ACCOUNT 

OF    THE 

BURNING  OF  NEW  LONDON, 

ON   THE 

6TH   OF   SEPTEMBER,    1781. 
From  the  Connecticut  Gazette  of  Friday,  September  ?th.1 

AT    about  day-break  on    Thursday  morning  last, 
twenty-four   sail    of    the    enemy's    shipping    ap 
peared  to  the  westward  of  this  harbor,  which  by  many 
were  supposed  to  be  a  plundering  party  after  stock. 

Alarm  guns  were  immediately  fired,  but  the  dis 
charge  of  cannon  in  the  harbor  has  become  so  fre 
quent  of  late  that  they  answered  little  or  no  purpose.2 

1  The  date  of  this  paper  on  the  title-page  is  7th,  but  this  account  be 
gins  near  the  end  of  column  I,  page  3,  under  date  "  loth."     "  We  had 
prepared  our  paper  thus  far  for  publication  when,"  etc.,  as  above. 

2  During  the  war  the  privateers  which  swarmed  from   New  London 
were  in  the  habit  of  announcing  their  successes  on  their  return  to  port 
by  firing  salutes  from  their  guns.     Colonel  Samuel  McCIellan,  of  Wood 
stock  (great-grandfather  of  General  G.  B.  McCIellan),  who,  after  the  death 
of  Colonel  Ledyard,  assumed  command  of  New  London  harbor  and  its 
defences,  soon  after  the  battle  forbade  the  firing  of  guns  in  the  harbor, 
except  in  hostilities  with  the  enemy,  by  the  following  order :  — 

"  Whereas  the  promiscuous  firing  of  Cannon  confuses  the  proper  Sig 
nals  and  hath  repeatedly  alarmed  the  Country  :  —  The  Commanders  of 
Privateers  and  other  armed  Vessels  are  hereby  requested  to  discontinue 
the  Practice,  and  on  no  Pretence  to  fire  a  Cannon  while  riding  in  the  Har 
bour  of  New  London.  SAMUEL  M'CLELLAN, 

"  Colonel  Commandant. 

"NEW  LONDON,  Octo.  i8th,  1781." 

2 


1 8  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

The  defenceless  state  of  the  fortifications  and  town 
are  obvious  to  our  readers.  A  few  of  the  inhabitants 
who  were  equipped  advanced  toward  the  place  where 
the  enemy  were  tho't  likely  to  make  their  landing,  and 
manoeuvred  on  the  heights  adjacent,  until  the  enemy, 
about  9  o'clk,  landed  in  two  divisions  of  about  800 
men  each,  one  of  them  at  Brown's  farm  near  the  light 
house,  the  other  at  Groton  point.  The  division  that 
landed  near  the  light-house  marched  up  the  road, 
keeping  out  large  flanking  parties,  who  were  attacked 
in  different  places  on  their  march  by  the  inhabitants 
who  had  spirit  and  resolution  to  oppose  their  prog 
ress  ;  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  proceeded  to  the 
town  and  set  fire  to  the  stores  on  the  beach,1  and  im 
mediately  after  to  the  dwelling-houses  lying  on  the 
Mill  Cove.  The  scattered  fire  of  our  little  parties 
unsupported  by  our  neighbours  more  distant  galled 
them,  so  that  they  soon  began  to  retire,  setting  fire  to 
stores  and  dwelling-houses  promiscuously  in  their 
way ;  the  fire  from  the  stores  communicated  to  the 
shipping  that  lay  at  the  wharfs,  and  a  number  were 
burnt;  others  swung  to  single  fasts  and  remained  un- 
burnt.  At  4  o'clk  they  began  to  quit  the  town  with 
great  precipitation,  and  were  pursued  by  our  brave 
citizens  with  the  spirit  of  veterans  and  drove  on  board 
their  boats.  Five  of  the  enemy  were  killed  and  about 
20  wounded.  Among  the  latter  is  a  Hessian  captain, 
who  is  a  prisoner,  as  are  seven  others.  We  lost  four 
killed  and  ten  or  twelve  wounded  —  none  mortal. 
The  most  valuable  part  of  the  town  is  reduced  to 
ashes,  and  all  the  stores.  Fort  Trumbull  not  being 

1  What  was  then  known  as  "the  beach  "  is  now  Water  Street.  It  at 
that  time  was  the  business  part  of  the  town.  On  it  were  the  public 
and  large  private  store-houses. 


Burning  of  New  London.  19 

tenable  on  the  land  side,  was  evacuated  as  the  enemy 
advanced,  and  the  few  men  in  it  crossed  the  river  to 
Fort  Griswold,  on  Groton  Hill,  which  was  soon  after 
invested  by  the  division  that  landed  on  the  point. 
The  fort  having  in  it  only  120  men,  chiefly  militia, 
hastily  collected,  who  defended  it  with  the  greatest 
resolution  and  bravery,  and  once  repulsed  the  enemy, 
but  the  fort  being  out  of  repair  could  not  be  defended 
by  such  a  handful  of  men,  th°  brave  and  determined, 
against  so  superior  a  number,  they  did  ALL  that  men  of 
spirit  and  bravery  in  such  a  situation  could  do;  but 
after  having  a  number  of  their  party  killed  and 
wounded  they  found  that  further  resistance  would  be 
in  vain,  and  resigned  the  fort.  Immediately  on  their 
surrendery  the  valient  Colonel  Ledyard,  whose  fate  in 
a  particular  manner  is  much  lamented,  and  70  other 
officers  and  men,  were  murdered,  most  of  them  heads 
of  families.  The  enemy  lost  a  Major  Montgomery  and 
forty-one  officers  and  men  in  the  attack,  who  were 
found  near  the  fort ;  their  wounded  were  carried  off. 
Soon  after  the  enemy  got  possession  of  the  fort  they 
set  fire  to  and  burnt  a  number  of  dwelling-houses  and 
stores  on  Groton  bank,  and  embarked  about  sunset, 
taking  with  them  sundry  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
London  and  Groton.  A  Colonel  Ayres,1  who  com 
manded  the  division,  was  wounded,  and  it  is  said  died 
on  board  the  fleet  the  night  they  embarked. 

About  15  sail  of  vessels  with  effects  of  the  inhab 
itants  retreated  up  the  river  on  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  and  were  saved,  and  four  others  remained  in 
the  harbour  unhurt.  The  troops  were  commanded  by 
that  infamous  traitor  to  his  country,  Benedict  Arnold, 


Eyre. 


2O  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

who  headed  the  division  which  preceded  to  the  town. 
By  this  calamity  it  is  judged  that  more  than  one  hun 
dred  families  are  deprived  of  their  habitations,  and 
most  of  them  their  ALL.  This  neighborhood  feel 
sensibly  the  loss  of  many  deserving  citizens,  and,  th° 
deceased,  can5'  but  be  highly  indebted  to  them  for 
their  spirit  and  bravery  in  their  exertions  and  manly 
opposition  to  the  merciless  enemies  of  our  country  in 
their  last  moments. 


From  the  same  Paper  of  September  i^fA,  1781. 

The  following  savage  action,  committed  by  the 
troops  who  subdued  Fort  Griswold  on  Groton  hill,  on 
Thursday  last,  ought  to  be  recorded  to  their  eternal 
infamy  : 

Soon  after  the  surrendery  of  the  fort  they  loaded  a 
wagon  with  our  wounded  men,  by  orders  of  their  offi 
cers,1  and  set  the  wagon  off  from  the  top  of  the  hill, 
which  is  long  and  very  steep  ;  the  wagon  went  a  con 
siderable  distance  with  great  force,  till  it  was  suddenly 
stopped  by  a  tree  ;  the  shock  was  so  great  to  those 
faint  and  bleeding  men  that  part  of  them  died  in 
stantly  ;  the  officers  ordered  their  men  to  fire  on  the 
wagon  while  it  was  running.2 

1  This  order  for  the  removal  of  the  wounded  was   no  doubt  given   by 
the  officers  with  the  best  intentions,  since  their  orders  were  to  burn  the 
barracks  and  blow  up  the  magazine  (see  Arnold's  report  to  Clinton),  —  a 
course  naturally  involving  the  death  of  every  one  in  the  fort  when  the  fire 
and  explosion  should  come.     This  order  for  removal  was  carried  out  by 
the   soldiery  with   a   most  villainous   disregard  of  the   comfort  of  the 
wounded,  throwing  them  on  top  of  each  other  like  logs. 

Mr.  Andrew  Gallup,  wounded  in  the  hip,  and  who  died  in  Ledyard 
(Groton),  March  i6th,  1853,  in  speaking  of  the  battle,  said  to  a  well-known 
citizen  :  "  1  had  the  honor  to  ride  down-hill  in  that  wagon.  Some  of  them 
meant  well  enough,  and  chained  the  wheel  ;  but  the  chain  broke,  so  they 
.et  us  go." 

2  This  is  the  only  mention  of  this  circumstance   I   have  been  able  to 


Burning  of  New  London.  2 1 

From  the  same  Paper  of  September  list,    1781. 

Arnold's  burning  fleet,  after  leaving  this  harbour, 
plundered  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  on  Long 
Island ;  400  of  them  landed  at  Southold,  and  plun 
dered  and  carried  off  to  the  value  of  ,£3,000. 

Monday  se'nnight  a  flag  sailed  from  hence  with  five 
of  Arnold's  burning  party  that  were  taken  prisoners 
here;  the  flag  overtook  the  fleet  at  Whitestone,  and 
returned  here  last  Sunday  with  five  .lads  that  were 
taken  at  Fort  Griswold. 

Since  our  last  7  or  8  dead  bodies  of  officers  and  sol 
diers  have  drove  ashore  on  the  Great  Neck,  and  3 
others  on  Groton  shore  which  were  thrown  out  of 
Arnold's  burning  fleet.  Our  advices  from  New  York 
are  that  the  enemy  lost- 2 20  men,  killed  and  dead  of 
their  wounds,  in  their  attack  on  Groton  Fort  and  this 
place,  besides  about  70  deserters. 

The  following  is  the  most  accurate  list J  we  have 
been  able  to  collect  of  the  names  of  the  brave  and 
worthy  citizens  who  were  murdered  at  Fort  Griswold, 
Sept.  6,  1781,  including  those  who  have  since  died  of 
their  wounds. 

The  whole  number  of  killed  and  those  since  died 
of  their  wounds  is  said  to  be  82.  Should  we  be  able 
to  collect  the  names  of  the  others,  they  shall  be  pub 
lished. 

find.  It  seems  unaccountable  that  Avery,  Hempstead,  and  the  rest  of 
the  eye-witnesses  should  have  overlooked,  or  forgotten  to  mention,  so 
atrocious  an  action,  if  true;  yet  it  is  singular  that  so  careful  an  editor 
as  Timothy  Green  gave  circulation  to  a  statement  so  wide  of  the  facts. 

1  This  list  gives  but  79  names,  unless  we  count  Captain  Ellis  and  Henry 
Halsey  two,  who  is  generally  called  Captain  Elias  Henry  Halsey. 


22 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


BELONGING    TO    GROTON. 

Lieut-Col.  William  Ledyard,  Mess.  Luke  Perkins, 


Mess.  Elijah  Avery, 
John  Williams, 
Simeon  Allen, 
Samuel  Allen, 
Amos  Stanton, 
Hubbart  Burrows, 
Nathan  Moor, 
Youngs  Ledyard, 
Joseph  Lewis, 
Henry  Williams, 
Ebenezer  Avery, 
John  Lester, 
John  Stedman, 
Daniel  Avery, 
David  Avery,  Esq., 
Daniel  Chester, 
Solomon  Avery, 
Jasper  Avery, 
Elisha  Avery, 
Thomas  Avery, 
David  Palmer, 
Sylvester  Walworth, 
Philip  Covil, 
Ezekiel  Bailey, 
Jeremiah  Chester, 
David  Seabury, 
Henry  Woodbridge, 
Christopher  Woodbridge, 
Elnathan  Perkins, 


Luke  Perkins,  Jun., 
Elisha  Perkins, 
Asa  Perkins, 
Simeon  Perkins, 
John  Brown, 
John  P.  Babcock, 
Nathaniel  Adams, 
Barney  Kinne, 
Samuel  Hill, 
Nathan  Sholes, 
Joseph  Moxley, 
Thomas  Starr,  Jun., 
Nicholas  Starr, 
Moses  Jones, 
Rufus  Hurlbut, 
Belton  Allen, 
Benadam  Allen, 
Andrew  Billings, 
Simeon  Morgan, 
Patrick  Ward, 
Christopher  Avery, 
Jonas  Lester, 
Edward  Mills, 
Wait  Lester, 
Thomas  Miner, 
Andrew  Baker, 
Solomon  Tift, 
Josiah  Wigger. 


Burning  of  New  London.  23 

BELONGING   TO    NEW   LONDON. 

Mess.  Peter  Richards,          Mess.  Stephen  Whittelsey, 

James  Comstock,  Eliaday  Jones, 

Richard  Chapman,  Jonathan  Butler, 

John  Holt,  Wm.   Comstock,   of 
Samuel  Billings,  Fort  Trumbull, 

John  Clark,  Daniel  Williams, 

John  Whittelsey,  William  Bolton. 

BELONGING    TO    STONINGTON. 

Mess.  Enoch  Stanton,  Daniel  Stanton. 

Thomas  Williams, 

BELONGING    TO    PRESTON.       BELONGING   TO    LONG  ISLAND. 

Mr.  John  Billings.  Capt.  Ellis, 

Henry  Halsey. 

NEGROES. 

Lambo  Latham,  Jordan  Freeman. 

By  the  best  information  we  can  get  there  were  6 
of  the  above  killed  and  20  wounded,  previous  to  the 
enemy's  gaining  possession  of  the  Fort. 

The  number  of  the  enemy  found  buried  in  Groton 
amounts  to  61. 

From  Connecticut  Gazette  of  October  izth. 
The   following  is  a  list  of   dwelling-houses,  stores, 
&c.,    in  New  London  which  were  set  on  fire  by  the 
enemy  and  consumed.     The  names   of  the  owner  or 
occupant  are  indiscriminately  mentioned  in  this  list. 


Battle  of  Groton  Heigkts. 


Old  mill  built  in  1650  on  the  Governor  Winlhrop  estate,  still  in  use,  standing  near 
Main  Street,  at  the  head  of  "  Mill  "  or  "  Winthrop  Cove,"  and  now  owned 
by  Charles  A.  Lewis. 


North  end  of  the  town,  and  Main  Street, 


Picket  Latimer's  house  and  barn  . 

Widow  Plumbe's  house  and  barn 

Henry  Latimer's  (late)  house 

Late  Deacon  Green's  house  and  shop 

Christopher  Prince's  house    .... 

James  Pitman's  house         ..... 

Daniel  Byrne's  house     ..... 

Roswell  Saltonstall's  house  and  cooper's  shop 

Joseph  Hurlbut's  house  and  cooper's  shop    . 

Widow  Rogers 's  house 

Henry  Deshon's  house 

Gen.  Saltonstall's  house,  2  stores,  shop  and  barn 


No.  of  Families 
I 
2 
I 

4 
I 
I 
I 

I 
I 
I 

I 
I 


Burning  of  New  London.  25 

Store  improved  by  Owen  Neil  for  a  house    .         .        i 
Late  Duncan  Stewart's  house    ....  2 

Heirs  of  Peter  Harris,  i  store  and  one  barn. 

Joseph  Packwood's  store. 

Roger  Gibson's  house  ......       2 

Samuel  and  Richard  Latimer's  house         .  2 

Ichabod  Powers's  house        .....       2 

Peter  Latimer's  house  and  cooper's  shop  .         .  4 

Widow  Shapley's  house         .         .         .         . .        .        i 

Guy  Richards  &  Son,  3  stores  and  slaughter  house. 
John  Kartell's  work-shop. 

On  Beach  Street} 

Widow  Elliot's  house  and  barn     ....       2 
Edward  Hallam  &  Co.,  3  stores  and  barn. 
David  Mumford's  store. 
Roswell  Saltonstall's  distill  house,  and  store. 

do  do  opposite  thereto  i  store  and 

a  cooper's  shop  improv'd  as  a  house  .         .        i 

Store  improv'd  by  John  Springer's  family          .  i 

Thomas  Wilson's  store. 
Shoe-maker's  shop. 
Nathaniel  Shaw's  two  stores. 
Joseph  Packwood's  store. 

John  Deshon's  house  and  two  stores  I 

Widow  Skinner's  house     .....  i 

Elijah  Richards's  house         .....       i 
Widow  Potter's  house       .....  2 

Barsheba  Smith's  house         .         .         .         .         .       i 
Court  house,  church,  jail,  jail-house,  watch-house 

and  barber's  shop       ......       2 

1  When  the  enemy,  passing  down  Main  Street,  came  to  Hallam  Street, 
through  which  they  entered  Water  Street,  Arnold  is  said  to  have  ex 
claimed,  pointing  with  his  sword  in  the  direction  of  the  street  with  its 
rich  stores,  "  Soldiers,  do  your  duty  !  " 


26  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

On  the  Bank.1 

Samuel  Belden's  store. 

do  do        do    on  the  wharf  improv'd  by  a 

family          .......  I 

Widow  Hancock's  two  houses  .  2 
Shop  improv'd  by  Thomas  Gardiner. 

John  Erving's  house,  one  store  and  barn  .         .  i 

Jonathan  Douglass's  house  and  cooper's  shop       .  i 

Daniel  Deshon's  house      .....  3 

Widow  Leete's  house    ......  i 

Charles  Chadwick's  house  and  empty  store        .  i 
John  Champlin's  shop. 

James  Thomson's  house  and  barn     ...  2 

Samuel  Belden's  house  and  barn  .         .         .         .  i 

John  M'Curdy's  house,  2  stores,  and  barn         .  i 

Widow  M'Neil's  house,  and  shop  opposite    .         .  i 

Richard  Potter's  house  and  store       ...  i 

Widow  Bulkley's  two  houses         ....  4 

Widow  Fosdick's  house  and  barn      ...  i 
Jonathan  Starr's  work-shop. 

Jere.  Miller's  house,  store,  and  barn  i 

Joshua  Starr's  house  and  work-shop  .         .  2 

do         do         do     and  barn       .         .         .      •  .  i 

Titus  Hurlbut's  2  houses,  2  shops,  and  barn      .  5 

James  Tilley's  house,  rope-walk,  and  barn      .         .  i 

Doct.  Wolcott's  house  and  barn         ...  i 

Jacob  Fink's  house  and  slaughter  house        .         .  i 

John  Way's  house  and  cooper  shop  ...  i 

Russel  Hubbard's  house,  store,  and  barn       .         .  3 

James  Lamphear's  house  .....  2 

Widow  Short's  house    .  ...  4 

Andrew  Palmes's  house     .  ...  2 

1  Now  known  as  Bank  Street. 


Burning  of  New  London.  27 

Nathan  Douglas's  house,  tan-house,  and  barn        .  i 

Jere.  Miller's  house  improved  by  W.  Constant  .  i 

Joseph  Coit's  house  and  two  barns  i 
do         do    on   the   wharf,   one   house  and  two 

stores          .......  i 

Nath'l  Shaw's  house,  shop,  and  two  stores         .  3 

At  the  head  of  Long  Bridge  Cone.1 

Deshon  &  Christopher's  house  and  tan-house        .        i 
A  house  on  Hog  Neck2     .....  i 

Total,  65  houses  containing  97  families,  31  stores,  18 
shops,  20  barns,  9  public  and  other  buildings,  besides 
a  variety  of  other  small  buildings  of  different  kinds  not 
here  enumerated. 
Total  of  buildings  here  enumerated      .         .         .   143 


Old  warehouses  on  Beach  Street,  or  "  The  Beach,"  now  Water  Street.     One  of  these  escaped  the 
fire,  and  the  other  was  built  to  replace  those  burned,  and  is  in  the  style  of  thattim*. 

1  Now  Truman,  Blinman,  and  Coit  Streets. 

2  Howard  Street. 


28 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


There  were  burnt  at  Groton  at  the  same  time  i 
school-house,  4  barns,  2  shops,  2  stores,  and  1 2  dwell 
ing-houses. 

NAMES  OF  THE  OWNERS  OF  HOUSES  BURNED. 
From  a  list  in  the  papers  of  Colonel  Benadam  Gallup. 

"  HOUSES    BURNT." 


Elihu  Avery, 
Benjamin  Chester, 
Elijah  Avery, 
Esqr.  Ledyard,1 
Youngs  Ledyard, 
Jason  Chester, 
Captn.  Leeds,2 


Captn.  More,8 
John  Chester, 
Micha  Jefford, 
Edward  Jeffors, 
Doctor  Prentis,4 
Esqr.  Mumford,6 
Ensn.  Eldridge.6 


1  Ebenezer  Ledyard. 

2  William  Leeds. 

*  Frederick  Moore. 


4  Amos  Prentice. 
6  Thomas  Mumford. 
8  Charles  Eldridge,  Jr. 


RUFUS  AVERY'S  NARRATIVE. 

From  his  Original  Manuscript.1 

AS  I  belonged  to  the  garrison  at  Fort  Griswold 
when  Benedict  Arnold's  army  came  to  New  Lon 
don  and  Groton,  on  the  sixth  of  September,  1781,  and 
made  their  attack  on  both  places,  I  had  every  oppor 
tunity  to  know  all  the  movements  through  the  day 
and  time  of  the  battle.  I  am  requested  to  give  a  par 
ticular  account  of  the  conduct  of  the  enemy.  I  had 
charge  of  the  garrison  the  night  before  the  enemy  ap 
peared  anywhere  near  us,  or  were  expected  by  any  one 
at  that  time  to  trouble  us.  But  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  as  soon  as  I  had  daylight  so  as  to  see 
the  fleet,  it  appeared  a  short  distance  below  the  light 
house.  The  fleet  consisted  of  thirty-two  vessels  in 

1  A  publication  purporting  to  be  this  narrative  has  been  twice  printed: 
first,  by  one  Rathbun,  in  1840,  who  had  the  effrontery  to  put  at  the  head 
of  it,  "  In  his  own  words,'1  while  in  the  story  were  many  changes  and  ad 
ditions  (amounting  to  pages  in  his  pamphlet),  in  places  converting  the 
simple  English  of  Mr.  Avery  into  bombastic  nonsense  ;  Mr.  Harris,  ac 
cepting  the  "  In  his  own  words  "  as  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  genuine 
ness,  copied  it  entire  in  1870. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  a  friend  remark  that  he  "  had  read 
the  original,  and  thought  it  had  been  fixed  up  some,"  but  was  not  quite 
sure,  as  it  was  "  some  years  ago."  I  at  once  got  the  original  manuscript, 
by  the  kindness  of  its  owner,  and  read  it  with  the  printed  copy,  and  now, 
for  the  first  time,  is  the  original  manuscript  given  in  print.  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  of  using  the  present  popular  spelling,  rather  than  the  some 
what  "  phonetic  "  manner  of  the  writer,  perhaps  to  be  made  popular  by 
'  spelling-reform  advocates."  —  A. 


30  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

number,  —  ships,  brigs,  schooners,  and  sloops.  I  im 
mediately  sent  word  to  Captain  William  Latham,  who 
commanded  the  said  fort,  and  who  was  not  far  distant. 
He  very  soon  came  to  the  fort,  and  saw  the  enemy's 
fleet,  and  immediately  sent  a  notice  to  Col.  William 
Ledyard,  who  was  commander  of  the  harbor,  Fort 
Griswold,  and  Fort  Trumbull.  He  soon  arrived  at 
the  garrison,  saw  the  fleet,  then  ordered  two  large 
guns  to  be  loaded  with  heavy  charges  of  good  pow 
der,  &c.  Captain  William  Latham  took  charge  of 
one  gun  that  was  discharged  at  the  northeast  part  of 
the  fort,  and  I  took  charge  of  the  gun  on  the  west 
side  of  the  fort,  so  as  to  give  a  "  larum  "  to  the  coun 
try  in  the  best  manner  that  it  could  be  done.  We 
discharged  then  regular  "  larums."  Two  guns  was  the 
regular  "  larum,"  but  the  enemy  understood  that,  and 
they  discharged  a  third  gun  similar  to  ours  and  timed 
it  alike,  which  broke  our  alarm,  which  discouraged 
our  troops  coming  to  our  assistance.  Col.  William 
Ledyard  immediately  sent  out  two  expresses,  one  from 
each  fort,  to  call  on  every  captain  of  a  militia  com 
pany  of  men  to  hurry  them  in  to  our  relief.  But 
not  many  came  to  our  assistance.  Their  excuse  was 
that  they  supposed  it  to  be  only  a  false  alarm.  The 
discharge  of  the  third  gun  by  the  enemy  entirely 
changed  the  alarm.  It  was  customary,  when  there 
was  a  good  prize  brought  into  the  harbor,  or  on  the 
receipt  of  any  good  news,  to  rejoice  by  discharging 
three  cannon,  and  this  the  enemy  understood.  They 
landed  eight  hundred  officers  and  men  and  some 
horses  and  large  guns  and  carriages  on  the  beach  at 
Eastern  Point,  Groton  side  of  the  river,  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  on  New  London  side  of 
the  river  below  the  lisfht-house  on  the  beach  seven 

• 


Rufus  Averys  Narrative.  31 

hundred  officers  and  men  at  the  same  time.  The 
army  on  the  Groton  side  was  divided  into  two  di 
visions,  about  four  hundred  in  each  division.  Col. 
Aires  l  took  command  of  the  division  southeast  of  the 
fort,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  rods  from  the  fort, 
behind  a  ledge  of  rocks.  Major  Montgomery  took 
command  of  his  division  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
rods  from  the  fort,  behind  a  high  hill  of  land.  The 
army  on  New  London  side  of  the  river  found  better 
and  more  accommodating  land  for  marching  than  on 
Groton  side,  and  as  soon  as  they  got  against  Fort 
Trumbull  they  separated  into  two  divisions  :  one  went 
on  to  the  town  of  New  London,  and  plundered  and  set 
fire  to  the  shipping  and  buildings,  and  the  other  di 
vision  marched  directly  down  to  Fort  Trumbull. 
Capt.  Shapley,  who  commanded  the  fort,  saw  that  he 
was  likely  to  be  overpowered  by  the  enemy,  spiked  up 
the  cannon,  and  embarked  on  board  his  boats,  which 
were  prepared  for  him  and  his  men  if  wanted.  But 
the  enemy  were  so  quick  upon  him  that  before  he  and 
his  small  company  could  get  out  of  gunshot  in  their 
boats  a  number  of  his  men  got  badly  wounded.  Those 
that  were  able  to  get  to  Fort  Griswold  reached  there, 
and  most  of  them  were  slain.  Col.  Aires  and  Major 
Montgomery  had  their  divisions  stationed  about  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  soon  as  they  appeared  in 
sight  we  hove  a  number  of  shot  at  them,  but  they 
would  endeavor  to  disappear  immediately.  About  ten 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  they  sent  their  flag  to  demand 
of  Col.  Ledyard  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  The  party 
with  the  flag  approached  within  about  forty  rods  of 
the  fort,  and  we  discharged  a  musket  b'T-H  before  them, 
and  brought  them  to  a  stand.  Col.  Ledyard  called  a 

1  Eyre. 


32  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

council  of  war  to  take  the  minds  of  his  fellow  officers 
and  friends  as  to  what  was  to  be  done.  They  agreed 
to  send  a  flag  to  meet  theirs,  and  chose  Capt.  Elijah 
Avery,  Capt.  Amos  Stanton/and  Capt.  John  Williams. 
They  immediately  met  the  British  flag,  and  received  a 
demand  to  give  up  the  fort  to  them.  Our  flag  soon 
returned  with  the  summons,  which  was  to  surrender 
the  fort  to  them.  Inquiry  was  made  of  the  council  as 
to  what  must  be  done,  and  the  answer  was  sent  to  the 
British  flag  that  the  fort  would  not  be  given  up. 
Their  flag  went  back  to  Col.  Eyre's  division,  and  soon 
returned  to  within  about  seventy  rods  of  the  fort,  when 
they  were  again  met  by  our  flag,  which  brought  back 
to  Col.  Ledyard  the  demand  if  they  had  to  take  the 
fort  by  storm  they  should  put  martial  law  in  force ; 
that  is,  whom  they  did  not  kill  with  balls  should  be 
put  to  death  with  sword  and  bayonet.  Our  flag  went 
to  the  British  flag  with  Col.  Ledyard's  answer  that  he 
should  not  give  up  the  fort  to  them,  let  the  conse 
quence  be  what  it  might.  While  the  flags  were  pass 
ing  between  us  we  were  exchanging  shots  with  the 
British  at  Fort  Trumbull,  of  which  they  had  got  pos 
session  of  said  fort  before  the  commencement  of  the 
battle  at  Fort  Griswold.  We  could  heave  a  shot  into 
Fort  Trumbull  among  the  enemy  without  difficulty, 
but  they  could  not  raise  a  shot  so  high  as  to  come  into 
Fort  Griswold.  Having  obtained  possession  of  our 
good  powder  and  shot  left  by  Capt.  Shapley  in  the 
fort,  they  used  it  against  us. 

1  Captain  Stanton,  a  man  of  almost  gigantic  stature  and  herculean 
strength,  on  seeing  the  slaughter  continued  after  the  surrender,  is  said  to 
have  seized  a  heavy  musket  by  the  muzzle,  and  exclaiming,  "  My  God, 
must  we  die  so  !  "  sprang  upon  the  platform  on  the  west  side  of  the  fort, 
and  nearly  cleared  it  of  the  enemy  before  he  was  brought  down  by  a 
musket  shot.  —  H. 


Rufus  Averys  Narrative.  33 

About  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the  enemy 
found  out  what  we  were  determined  to  do.  Both  di 
visions  started  ;  that  of  Col.  Eyre  came  on  in  solid 
column.  As  soon  as  he  got  on  level  ground  we  were 
prepared  to  salute  them  with  a  gun  that  took  in  an 
eighteen-pound  ball,  but  was  then  loaded  with  two 
bags  of  grape  shot.  Capt.  Elias  Henry  Halsey  di 
rected  the  gun,  and  took  aim  at  the  enemy.  He  had 
practiced  on  board  of  privateers,  and  he  did  his  duty 
well.  I  was  present  with  him  and  others  near  the 
gun,  and  when  the  shot  struck  among  the  enemy  it 
cleared  a  wide  space  in  their  solid  column.  It  was 
reported  on  good  authority  that  about  twenty  men 
were  killed  and  wounded  by  that  charge  of  grape  shot. 
As  soon  as  the  enemy's  column  was  broken  by  their 
loss  of  officers  and  men,  they  scattered  and  trailed 
their  arms,  and  came  on  with  a  quick  march  and  ob 
lique  step  toward  the  fort  inclining  to  the  west.  Dur 
ing  this  time  we  hove  cannon  and  musket  shot  among 
the  enemy.  Col.  Eyre's  division  came  up  to  the  south 
side  and  west  side  of  the  fort,  where  he  was  mortally 
wounded.  Major  Montgomery,  who  started  with  his 
division  at  the  same  time  that  Eyre  did  to  come  to 
the  fort  in  solid  column,  inclined  to  the  north,  until 
they  got  east  of  the  redoubt  or  battery,  which  is  east 
of  the  fort,  when  a  large  number  of  them  came  very 
quick  into  the  battery.  Our  officers  threw  a  heavy 
charge  of  grape  shot  among  them,  which  destroyed  a 
large  number.  They  then  started  for  the  fort,  a  part 
of  them  in  platoons,  discharging  their  guns  as  they  ad 
vanced,  while  some  scattering  officers  and  soldiers 
came  round  to  the  east  and  north  part  of  the  fort. 
As  soon  as  the  enemy  got  round  the  fort  one  man  at 
tempted  to  open  the  gate.  He  lost  his  life.  There 


34  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

was  hard  fighting  some  time  before  the  second  man 
made  the  trial  to  open  the  gate,  which  he  did.  Our  lit 
tle  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  officers  and 
soldiers,  most  of  whom  were  volunteers  when  the  bat 
tle  began,  were  soon  overpowered.  Then  there  was 
no  block-house  on  the  parade,  as  there  is  now,  and 
the  enemy  had  every  opportunity  to  kill  and  wound 
almost  every  man  in  the  fort.  When  they  had  over 
powered  us  and  driven  us  from  our  stations  at  the  breast 
work  of  the  fort,  Col.  Wm.  Ledyard  seeing  what  few 
officers  and  men  he  had  left  to  do  any  more  fighting, 
they  quit  their  posts,  and  went  on  the  open  parade  in 
the  fort,  where  the  enemy  had  every  opportunity  to 
massacre  us,  there  was  about  six  of  the  enemy  to  one 
of  us.  The  enemy  mounted  the  parapet  seemingly 
all  as  one,  swung  their  hats  around  once,  and  dis 
charged  their  guns,  and  them  they  did  not  kill  with 
ball  they  meant  to  kill  with  the  bayonet.  I  was  on 
the  west  side  of  the  fort,  with  Capt.  Edward  Latham 
and  Mr.  Christopher  Latham,  on  the  platform ;  had  a 
full  sight  of  the  enemy's  conduct,  and  within  five  feet 
of  these  two  men.  I  had  at  that  time  a  ball  and  bay 
onet  hole  in  my  coat.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  dis 
charged  their  guns  they  knocked  down  the  two  men 
before  mentioned  with  the  britch  of  their  guns,  and  put 
their  bayonets  into  them,  but  did  not  quite  kill  them. 
By  this  time  Major  Montgomery's  division,  then  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  Bloomfield l  (the  other  gates 
having  been  unbolted  by  one  of  the  men),  marched  in 
through  the  gates,  and  formed  a  solid  column.  At  this 
time  I  left  my  station  on  the  west  side  of  the  fort,  and 
went  across  the  south  part  of  the  parade  towards  the 
south  end  of  the  barrack.  Col.  Wm.  Ledyard  was  on 

1  Bromfield. 


Rufus  Averys  Narrative.  35 

the  parade,  marching  towards  the  enemy  under  Capt. 
Bloomfield,  raising  and  lowering  his  sword.  He  was 
then  about  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  British  officer.  I 
turned  my  eyes  from  Ledyard  and  stepped  up  to  the 
door  of  the  barrack,  and  saw  the  enemy  discharging 
their  guns  through  the  windows.  I  turned  myself  im 
mediately  about,  and  the  enemy  had  executed  Col.  Led 
yard,  in  less  time  than  one  minute  after  I  saw  him.1 

1  Since  this  transaction  there  has  ever  existed  in  the  public  mind  great 
uncertainty  as  to  iuho  was  the  murderer  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  the  odium 
being  divided  between  Major  Bromfield,  who  succeeded  Major  Mont 
gomery  in  command  of  the  British  troops  on  that  occasion,  and  Captain 
Beckwith,  of  the  54th  regiment.  No  person  who  actually  witnessed  the 
deed  survived  the  battle,*  or  if  any  did  they  left  no  account  of  it  behind 
them ;  and  therefore  the  version  of  the  manner  of  Ledyard's  death  com 
monly  received  as  the  correct  one  is  but  merely  a  conjecture,  at  the  most. 
By  this,  the  deed  is  ascribed  to  the  officer  who  received  Ledyard's  sur 
render  of  the  fort,  supposed  by  the  greater  number  to  have  been  Major 
Bromfield;  others  at  the  time,  and  for  a  long  time  subsequent,  laid  the 
infamous  transaction  to  the  charge  of  Captain  Beckwith,  supposing  him 
to  have  been  the  officer  who  met  Ledyard  and  demanded  the  surrender. 

Let  us  consider  the  matter  a  little,  and  see  if  we  be  able  to  reconcile 
the  known  facts  and  strong  probabilities  in  the  case,  with  this  generally 
received  opinion.  Upon  the  entry  of  the  British  officer  to  the  fort,  and 
at  his  demand  of  who  commanded  it,  Colonel  Ledyard  advanced  to  an 
swer,  "  I  did,"  etc.,  at  the  same  time  tendering  him  the  hilt  of  his  sword 
in  token  of  submission.  It  is  obvious  that  in  this  action  Colonel  Ledyard 
must  have  presented  the  front  of  his  person  to  that  officer.  Now,  had 
the  latter,  in  taking  the  surrendered  sword,  instantly  (as  all  accounts 
charge  him  with  having  done)  plunged  it  into  him,  is  it  not  also  evident 
that  it  must  have  entered  in  front  and  passed  out  of  the  back  of  his  per 
son  ?  The  vest  and  shirt  worn  that  day  by  Colonel  Ledyard,  preserved 
in  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum  at  Hartford,  upon  examination  reveal  two 
rough,  jagged  openings,  one  on  either  side,  a  little  before  and  in  a  line 

*  Mr.  Harris  is  in  error  here,  I  believe,  as  I  myself  have  heard  this  action 
described  by  three  people  whose  fathers  saw  the  murder,  and  often  told  of  it 
to  their  children  (see  notes  on  Andrew  Gallup  and  Caleb  Avery).  This  being 
the  case,  most  of  the  ground  for  Mr.  Harris's  argument  is  taken  away.  The  ar 
gument,  though  ingenious,  is  not  conclusive,  since  no  one  can  by  reasoning  be 
certain  what  positions  would  be  taken  in  moments  of  such  excitement.  The  most 
natural  positions  are  those  which  agree  with  the  popularly  received  account,  as 
men  of  military  experience  and  education,  I  think,  will  agree.  —  A. 


36  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

The  column  then  continued  marching  toward  the  south 
end  of  the  parade.  I  could  do  no  better  than  to  pass 

with  the  lower  edge  of  the  arm-holes  of  the  vest.  The  larger  of  these 
apertures  is  upon  the  left  side  ;  the  difference  in  size  between  it  and  that 
on  the  right  corresponds  with  the  taper  of  a  sabre  blade  from  hilt  to 
point,  showing  conclusively  that  the  weapon  entered  from  the  left  and 
passed  out  at  the  right,  and  that  the  person  by  whom  the  wound  was  in 
flicted  must  have  stood  upon  the  left  side  of  the  wearer  when  the  plunge 
was  made.  These  holes  are  marked  :  that  on  the  left  as  "  where  the 
sword  entered,"  and  that  on  the  right  as  "  where  the  sword  came  out," 
—  so  marked,  doubtless,  by  the  person  who  presented  these  memorials  to 
the  society,  a  near  relative  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  and  who  considered  them 
as  the  marks  of  the  fatal  wound.  These  are  the  only  marks  visible  upon 
the  garment.  It  is  a  reasonable  supposition  that  when  the  British  officer 
entered  and  thundered  his  demand  he  carried  his  drawn  sword  in  his 
right  hand  ;  for  we  can  scarcely  imagine  an  officer  rushing  unarmed  into 
a  place  of  such  danger  and  demanding  a  surrender.  Now,  in  case  he 
did  so  carry  his  sword,  he  must  necessarily  either  have  sheathed,  dropped; 
or  changed  it  to  his  left  hand,  in  order  to  receive  Ledyard's  with  the 
right ;  and  this  hardly  seems  possible.  We  must  therefore  suppose  that 
he  received  it  in  his  left  hand  ;  and  if  so,  does  it  not  appear  as  most  un 
reasonable  that,  having  a  sword  in  either  hand,  he  would  have  used  that 
in  his  left  with  which  to  make  the  thrust  ?  Yet  he  must  have  done  so  if 
it  was  by  his  own  swordthat  Ledyard  met  his  death.  Neither  does  it 
appear  possible  that  in  the  heat  and  excitement  of  the  engagement, 
coolly  calculating  the  chances,  he  would  have  passed  around  to  the  left 
of  his  victim  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  wound  more  surely  fatal,  — 
the  only  reason  for  which  we  can  suppose  it  to  have  been  done. 

We  have  seen  from  the  position  occupied  by  the  parties  that  the 
wound,  if  inflicted  instantly  on  the  surrender  of  the  sword,  must  have 
been  given  in  front  ;  the  marks  in  the  vest  conclusively  prove  it  to  have 
been  given  in  the  left  side.  We  have  seen  the  awkward  position  of  the 
officer  with  his  own  sword  in  his  right  and  Ledyard's  in  his  left  hand,— a 
situation  almost  precluding  the  idea  of  his  making  the  stab  with  the  latter. 
We  have  also  seen  that  no  person  who  witnessed  it  left  any  testimony 
regarding  the  affair,  and  that  all  that  the  commonly  received  version  of 
it  is  based  upon  is  really  but  the  surmises  of  a  people  wrought  almost  to 
desperation  by  their  losses  and  wrongs,  who  in  the  first  moments  of  ex 
asperation  would  naturally  attribute  an  act  of  such  enormity  to  the  com 
mander  as  the  representative  of  the  enemy.  Now,  after  considering  all 
these  facts  and  probabilities,  is  it  not  a  more  rational  conclusion  that  the 
wound  was  given  by  a  by-slanding  officer  —  a  subaltern  or  aid,  perhaps  — 
than  that  it  was  inflicted  by  the  officer  to  whom  Ledyard  offered  his 
sword  ?  It  certainly  so  appears  to  us.  But  in  case  that,  despite  all  these 


Rujus  A  very 's  Narrative.  37 

across  the  parade  before  the  enemy's  column,  as  they 
discharged  the  volleys  of  three  platoons,  the  fire  of 
which  I  went  through  I  believe  there  was  not  less 
than  five  or  six  hundred  men  of  the  enemy  on  the 
parade  in  the  fort.  They  killed  and  wounded  nearly 
every  man  in  the  fort  as  quick  as  they  could,  which 
was  done  in  about  one  minute.  I  expected  my  time 
to  come  with  the  rest.  One  mad-looking  fellow  put 
his  bayonet  to  my  side,  and  swore,  "  bejasus,  he  would 
skipper  me."  I  looked  him  very  earnestly  in  the  face 
and  eyes,  and  asked  for  mercy  and  to  spare  my  life. 
He  attempted  three  times  to  put  the  bayonet  in  me, 

reasons  for  believing  that  officer  innocent  of  the  crime,  he  was  really 
guilty,  of  the  two  to  whom  it  has  been  charged,  against  but  one  is  there 
any  evidence  to  sustain  the  charge,  and  this  is  purely  circumstantial.  Cap 
tain  Beckwith  acted  as  aid  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre  on  the  clay  of  the 
battle,  and  was  the  officer  sent  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  He, 
with  Lord  Dalrymple,  was  sent  by  Arnold  as  bearer  of  despatches  to  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  and  in  all  probability  furnished  the  account  of  the 
battle  for  Rivington's  Gazette,  which  appeared  in  that  paper  before  the 
remainder  of  the  expedition  had  reached  New  York.  In  this  account, 
in  which  the  details  of  the  conference  regarding  the  surrender  are  given 
with  a  minuteness  with  which  only  an  eye-witness  could  give  them,  per 
sonal  malice  toward  Colonel  Ledyard  is  a  salient  feature,  which  the  most 
unobservant  reader  cannot  fail  to  notice.  The  writer  appears  to  have 
considered  the  flag  and  the  officers  bearing  it  insulted  in  the  conference  ; 
and  in  his  references  to  the  garrison,  and  to  Colonel  Ledyard  in  particu 
lar,  he  expresses  himself  in  the  most  contemptuous  and  bitter  terms. 

If  he  was  the  officer  to  whom  the  surrender  was  made,  it  is  possible 
that  on  beholding  the  man  who  he  fancied  had  insulted  him  he  allowed 
his  rage  to  supplant  his  manhood,  and,  forgetting  his  military  honor, 
plunged  his  sword  into  his  vanquished  enemy.  From  Miss  Caulkins' 
History  of  New  London  we  learn  that  he  afterward  passed  through  New 
York  on  his  way  to  Barbadoes.  While  there  he  was  charged  by  the 
newspapers  of  that  city  with  the  murder,  which  he  indignantly  denied. 
A  correspondence  was  opened  between  him  and  a  relative  of  Colonel 
Ledyard  in  reference  to  the  question,  when  he  produced  documents  which 
exculpated  him.  In  view  of  this,  however,  as  between  him  and  Major 
Bromfield,  circumstantial  evidence  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  latter,  who 
doubtless  could  have  furnished  as  full  documentary  proof  of  his  inno 
cence,  had  he  been  called  upon  for  it.  —  H. 


38  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

but  I  must  say  I  believe  God  forbade  him,  for  I  was 
completely  in  his  power,  as  well  as  others  that  was 
present  with  the  enemy.  The  enemy  at  the  same  time 
massacred  Lieut.  Enoch  Stanton  within  four  or  five 
feet  of  me.  A  platoon  of  about  ten  men  marched  up 
near  where  I  stood,  where  two  large  outer  doors  to  the 
magazine  made  a  space  wide  enough  for  ten  men  to 
stand  in  one  rank.  They  discharged  their  guns  into 
the  magazine  among  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  some 
well  ones,  and  some  they  killed  and  wounded.  That 
platoon  fell  back,  and  another  platoon  came  forward  to 
discharge  their  guns  into  the  outer  part  of  the  maga 
zine,  where  the  others  did.  As  they  made  ready  to 
fire,  Capt.  Bloomfield  came  suddenly  round  the  corner 
of  the  magazine,  and  very  quickly  raised  his  sword, 
exclaiming,  "Stop  firing!  You'll  send  us  all  to  hell 
together  !  "  Their  language  was  bad  as  well  as  their 
conduct.  I  was  near  him  when  he  spoke.  Bloomfield 
knew  there  must  be,  of  course,  much  powder  scattered 
about  the  magazine,  and  a  great  quantity  deposited 
there,  but  I  expect  the  reason  it  did  not  take  fire  was 
that  there  was  so  much  human  blood  to  put  it  out. 
They  did  not  bayonet  many  after  they  ceased  firing 
their  guns.  I  was  amongst  them  all  the  time,  and  they 
very  soon  left  off  killing,  and  then  went  stripping  and 
robbing  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  also  those  that 
were  not  wounded.  They  then  ordered  each  one  of  us 
to  march  out  to  the  northeast  part  of  the  parade,  and 
them  that  could  not  go  themselves,  from  their  wounds, 
were  to  be  helped  by  those  that  were  well.  Mr.  Sam 
uel  Edgecomb,  Jr.,  and  myself  were  ordered  to  take 
Ensign  Charles  Eldredge  out  of  the  magazine.  He 

o  o  o 

was  a  very  large,  heavy  man,  who  had  been  shot  in  the 
knee-joint.  We  poor  prisoners  were  taken  out  on  the 


Rufus  Averys  Narrative.  39 

parade,  about  two  rods  from  the  gates  of  the  tort,  and 
every  man  ordered  to  sit  down  immediately,  and  if  not 
obeyed  at  once  the  bayonet  was  to  be  put  into  him. 
The  battle  was  then  finished,  which  was  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  the  enemy  began  to  take  care 
of  their  dead  and  wounded.  The  first  thing  they  did 
was  to  take  off  six  of  the  outer  doors  of  the  barrack, 
and  with  four  men  to  a  door  would  bring  in  one  man 
at  a  time  on  each  door.  There  were  twenty-four  men 
at  work  about  two  hours  as  fast  as  they  could  walk 
and  deposit  them  on  the  west  side  of  the  parade  in  the 
fort,  where  it  was  the  most  comfortable  place  they  could 
find,  while  we  poor  prisoners  were  put  in  the  most  un 
comfortable  spot  on  the  parade,  in  the  fort,  where  the 
sun  shone  down  so  very  warm  on  us  that  it  made  us 
feel  more  unhappy.  Some  of  the  wounded  men  lay 
dying.  Captain  Youngs  Ledyard  and  Capt.  Nathan 
Moore  were  among  the  number.  I  sat  on  the  ground 
with  the  other  prisoners,  and  these  two  fine  men  lay 
on  the  ground  by  me,  Ledyard's  head  on  one  thigh,  and 
Moore's  head  on  the  other.  They  both  died  that  night. 
While  I  was  with  them  they  had  their  reason,  and  re 
quested  water  for  their  thirst.  I  asked  of  the  enemy 
water  for  my  brother  prisoners  to  drink,  as  well  as  for 
myself.  They  granted  my  request.  The  well  was 
within  two  rods  of  us.  I  watched  them  when  they 
brought  the  water  to  me  for  us  to  drink,  to  see  that 
they  did  not  put  anything  in  it  to  poison  us ;  for  they 
had  repeatedly  said  that  we  must  all  die  before  the  sun 
went  down,  because  that  was  in  the  summons  sent  to 
Col.  Win.  Ledyard  that  those  who  were  not  killed  by 
the  musket-ball  should  die  by  the  sword  and  bayonet. 
But  happy  for  us  that  was  alive  they  did  not  offer  to 
hurt  any  one  man,  and  they  said  that  was  a  falsehood. 


40  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

They  kept  us  on  the  ground  in  the  garrison  about  two 
hours  after  the  battle  was  over,  and  then  ordered  every 
man  who  was  able  to  walk  to  rise  up  immediately. 
Sentries  with  loaded  guns  and  fixed  bayonets  were 
placed  around  us,  with  orders  to  shoot  or  bayonet  any 
one  that  did  not  obey  the  officer.  I  was  obliged  to 
leave  two  dying  men  that  were  resting  on  me  as  they 
lay  on  the  ground  beside  me.  We  marched  down  on 
the  bank  by  the  river  so  as  to  be  ready  to  embark  to 
go  on  board  the  British  fleet.  Then,  about  thirty  of  us, 
every  man  was  ordered  to  sit  down,  and,  as  at  other 
times,  was  surrounded  with  sentries.  Capt.  Bromfield 
came  and  took  the  names  of  the  wounded  that  were  able 
to  march  down  with  us.  I  sat  where  I  had  a  fair  view 
of  the  enemy's  conduct.  The  sun  was  about  half  an 
hour  high,  and  they  were  setting  fire  to  the  buildings, 
and  bringing  down  plunder  by  us  as  we  were  placed  at 
the  lower  part  of  the  village.  At  the  same  time  a  large 
number  of  the  enemy  between  us  and  the  fort  were  get 
ting  ready  to  quit  the  ground.  They  loaded  up  our 
very  large,  heavy  ammunition  wagon  that  belonged  to 
the  fort  with  the  wounded  men  who  could  not  go  them 
selves,  and  about  twenty  of  the  soldiers  drew  it  out  of 
the  fort  and  brought  it  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  which 
the  fort  stood,  which  was  very  steep,  and  about  thirty 
rods  distance.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  began  to  move 
the  wagon  down  the  hill,  they  began  to  put  themselves 
in  a  position  to  hold  it  back  with  all  their  power. 
They  found  it  too  much  for  them  to  do ;  they  released 
their  hold  on  the  wagon  as  quick  as  possible  to  prevent 
being  run  over  by  the  wagon  themselves,  leaving  it  to 
run  down  the  hill  with  great  speed.1  It  ran  about 

1  This  description  of  their  action  seems  to  confirm  the  story  of  Andrew 
Gallup,  in  note  I,  page  20.  —  A. 


Rufus  A  very  s  Narrative.  41 

twelve  rods  to  a  large  apple-tree  stump,  and  both  shafts 
of  the  wagon  struck  very  hard,  and  hurt  the  wounded 
men  very  much.  A  great  number  of  the  enemy  were 
near  where  the  wagon  stopped,  and  they  immediately 
ran  to  the  wagon,  and  brought  that  and  the  wounded 
men  by  where  we  prisoners  were  sitting  on  the  ground, 
and  deposited  them  in  the  house  near  by,  that  belonged 
to  Ensign  Ebenezer  Avery,  who  was  one  that  was  in 
the  wagon  when  it  started  down  the  hill.  Some  of 
the  enemy  had  set  fire  to  the  house  before  the  wounded 
prisoners  were  placed  in  it,  but  the  fire  was  put  out 
by  some  of  the  others.  Capt.  Bloomfield  paroled  the 
wounded  men  who  were  left,  and  took  Ebenezer  Led- 
yard,  Esq.,  as  a  hostage  for  them  left  on  parol,  to  see 
them  forthcoming,  if  called  for.  By  this  time  the 
enemy's  boats  came  up  to  the  shore  near  where 
we  prisoners  were.  The  officer  spoke  with  a  doleful 
sound:  "  Come,  you  rebels,  go  on  board  the  boats." 
That  touched  my  feelings  more  than  anything  that 
passed  for  the  day.  I  realized  that  I  should  have  to 
leave  my  dear  wife  and  my  good  neighbors  and  friends, 
and  also  my  native  land,  and  suffer  with  cold  and 
hunger, as  I  was  in  the  power  of  a  cruel  foe  or  enemy; 
but  I  was  still  in  the  hands  of  a  higher  power,  which 
was  a  great  consolation  to  me,  for  I  am  sensible  that 
God  has  preserved  my  life  through  many  hardships, 
and  when  in  danger  of  losing  my  life  many  times  in  the 
wars,  etc.  When  we  prisoners  had  marched  down  to 
the  shore,  the  boats  that  were  to  receive  us  on  board 
were  kept  off  where  the  water  was  about  knee-deep, 
and  we  were  marched  down  in  two  ranks,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  boat.  The  officer  that  had  the 
command  very  harshly  ordered  us  to  "  get  on  board 
immediately."  There  were  about  twelve  prisoners  in 


42  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

a  boat.  They  rowed  us  down  to  an  armed  sloop,  com 
manded  by  one  Captain  Thomas,  as  they  called  him, 
a  refugee  tory,  who  lay  with  his  vessel  within  the  fleet. 
As  soon  as  they  put  us  on  board  the  sloop  they  shut 
us  down  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  where  they  had  a 
fire  for  cooking,  which  made  it  very  hot  and  smoky. 
They  stopped  up  the  hatchway,  making  it  so  close  that 
we  had  no  air  to  breathe.  We  begged  that  they  would 
spare  our  lives,  and  they  gave  us  some  relief  by  open 
ing  the  hatchway,  and  letting  one  or  two  of  us  come 
on  deck  at  a  time  during  the  night,  but  with  sentries 
with  guns  and  bayonets  to  watch  us.  They  did  not 
give  us  anything  to  eat  or  drink  for  about  twenty-four 
hours,  and  then  only  a  mess  made  of  hogs'  brains  that 
they  caught  on  Groton  bank,  with  other  plunder. 
While  we  were  on  board  Thomas's  sloop  we  had 
nothing  to  eat  or  drink  that  we  could  hardly  swal 
low.  This  continued  about  three  days.  There  were 
a  number  of  weapons  of  war  where  we  were  placed  in 
the  vessel,  and  some  of  the  prisoners  whispered  to 
gether  that  there  was  an  opportunity  to  make  a  prize 
of  the  sloop.  This  somehow  got  to  the  officers' 
ears,  and  they  immediately  shut  us  all  down  in  the 
hold  of  the  vessel.  I  felt  very  certain  that  we  would 
have  to  suffer,  for  they  seemed  so  enraged  that  they 
appeared  to  have  an  intention  to  massacre  us  all. 
They  soon  got  ready,  and  began  to  call  us  up  on  deck 
one  by  one.  As  I  came  up  they  tied  my  hands  behind 
me  with  strong  rope  yarns,  binding  them  together,  and 
winding  the  rope  yarn  so  hard  as  to  nearly  bring  my 
shoulder  blades  to  touch  each  other.  Then  they  had 
a  boat  come  from  a  fourteen-gun  brig  commanded  by 
a  Captain  Steel,  by  name  and  nature.  I  was  ordered 
to  get  over  the  side  of  the  sloop  without  the  use  of  my 


Rufiis  Averys  Narrative.  43 

hands,  the  bulwarks  above  the  deck  being  all  of  three 
feet  in  height,  and  then  I  had  to  fall  into  the  boat  that 
was  to  carry  us  to  the  brig,  and  was  made  to  lay  down 
under  the  seats  on  which  the  rowers  sat,  as  though  we 
were  brutes  about  to  be  slaughtered.  After  we  were 
put  on  board  the  brig,  we  were  ordered  to  stand  in  one 
rank  beside  the  gunwale  of  the  vessel,  and  a  spar  was 
placed  before  us  leaving  about  one  foot  space  for  each 
man  to  stand  in,  with  a  sentry  to  nearly  every  man, 
with  orders  to  bayonet  or  shoot  any  one  that  offered 
to  move.  They  kept  us  in  that  situation  about  two 
hours  in  the  rain  and  cold  with  very  thin  clothing  upon 
us,  and  then  gave  us  liberty  to  go  about  the  main  deck, 
and  were  obliged  to  lie  on  the  wet  deck  without  any 
thing  to  eat  or  drink  for  supper.  We  were  on  board 
the  brig  about  four  days,  and  then  put  on  board  a  ship 
commanded  by  Capt.  Scott,  who  appeared  very  friendly 
to  we  prisoners.  He  took  me  on  the  quarter  deck  with 
him.  He  was  apparently  about  sixty  years  of  age,  and 
I  remained  with  him  until  I  was  exchanged.  Captain 
Nathaniel  Shaw  came  down  to  New  York  with  the 
American  flag  after  me,  and  four  young  men  that  were 
made  prisoners  with  me  that  belonged  to  the  garrison 
at  Fort  Griswold,  and  during  the  time  of  the  battle 
behaved  like  good  soldiers.  General  Mifflin  came  with 
the  British  flag  to  meet  the  American  flag.  I  sailed 
with  him  about  twenty  miles  in  the  flag-boat.  He 
asked  me  some  questions,  but  I  gave  him  little  or  no 
information,  and  told  him  I  was  very  sorry  that  they 
came  to  destroy  so  many  good  men,  and  cause  so  much 
distress  to  families  and  desolation  in  the  community, 
by  burning  so  much  valuable  property,  and  further, 
that  I  did  not  believe  that  they  would  gain  any  honor 
by  it.  He  replied,  we  might  thank  our  own  country- 


44  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

men  for  it.  I  told  him  that  /  should  not.  I  then 
turned  to  the  General  and  said,  will  you  answer  me  a 
few  questions  ?  "  As  many  as  you  please,  Sir,"  was 
his  reply.  I  made  many  inquiries,  and  asked  him  how 
many  of  the  enemy  was  missing  that  were  engaged  in 
the  attack  on  Groton  and  New  London,  remarking, 
"  Sir,  I  expect  you  can  tell  as  you  are  the  Commissary 
of  the  British  Army."  He  said,  "  I  find  in  the  returns 
that  there  were  two  hundred  and  twenty  odd  missing, 
but  I  dont  know  what  became  of  them."  Here  I  con 
clude  the  foregoing  particular  account  from  my  own 
personal  knowledge  of  the  British  attack  and  capture 
of  Fort  Griswold,  and  their  brutal  conduct  at  New 
London  and  Groton,  and  also  of  their  barbarous  treat 
ment  of  the  prisoners  who  fell  into  their  hands. 
ATTEST  :  RUFUS  AVERY, 

Orderly  Sergeant,  under  Captain  William  Latham,  who 
commanded  the  Matross  Company  at  Fort  Griswold, 
Sept.  6,  1781. 


1! 


NARRATIVE 


OF 


STEPHEN    HEMPSTEAD.1 


ON  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  September,  1781, 
twenty-four  sail  of  the  enemy's  shipping  appeared 
to  the  westward  of  New  London  harbor.  The  enemy 
landed  in  two  divisions,  of  about  800  men  each,  com 
manded  by  that  infamous  traitor  to  his  country,  Bene 
dict  Arnold,  who  headed  the  division  that  landed  on 
the  New  London  side,  near  Brown's  farms ;  the  other 
division,  commanded  by  Colonel  Ayres,  landed  on 
Groton  Point,  nearly  opposite.  I  was  first  sergeant  of 
Captain  Adam  Shapley's  company  of  state  troops,  and 
was  stationed  with  him  at  the  time,  with  about  twenty- 
three  men,  at  Fort  Trumbull,  on  the  New  London 
side.  This  was  a  mere  breast-work  or  water  battery, 

1  This  narrative  was  communicated  to  the  Missouri  Republican  in  1826, 
accompanied  by  the  following  note  of  which  I  have  seen  but  one  printed 
copy.  —  A- 

"  Mr.  Charles  I  have  thought  since  last  fall  that  I  would  send  you  an 
account  of  the  battle  of  Fort  Griswold  on  Groton  Heights  on  the  6th  of 
September  1781.  The  celebration  of  that  event  in  September  last  caused 
several  notices  of  it  to  appear  in  different  newspapers  none  of  which 
I  think  are  sufficiently  particular  or  wholly  correct.  As  I  was  a  partici 
pant  in  that  catastrophe  and  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  most  of  the 
circumstances,  and  reasons  for  remembering  them,  besides  some  notes 
taken  subsequently,  I  am  enabled  I  think  to  give  a  clearer  account  of  it 
(particularly  in  detail)  than  any  I  have  seen,  and  if  you  believe  the  follow 
ing  worthy  of  publication,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so. 

"STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD." 


48  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

open  from  behind,  and  the  enemy  coming  on  us  from 
that  quarter,  we  spiked  our  cannon,  and  commenced  a 
retreat  across  the  river  to  Fort  Griswold  in  three  boats. 
The  enemy  was  so  near  that  they  over-shot  us  with 
their  muskets,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  one  boat 
with  six  men  commanded  by  Josiah  Smith,  a  private. 
They  afterwards  proceeded  to  New  London  and  burnt 
the  town.  We  were  received  by  the  garrison  with 
enthusiasm,  being  considered  experienced  artillerists, 
whom  they  much  needed,  and  we  were  immediately 
assigned  to  our  stations.  The  fort  was  an  oblong 
square,  with  bastions  at  opposite  angles,  its  longest 
side  fronting  the  river  in  a  northwest  and  southeast 
direction.  Its  walls  were  of  stone,  and  were  ten  or 
twelve  feet  high  on  the  lower  side,  and  surrounded  by 
a  ditch.  On  the  wall  were  pickets,  projecting  over 
twelve  feet ;  above  this  was  a  parapet  with  embrasures, 
and  within  a  platform  for  the  cannon,  and  a  step  to 
mount  upon  to  shoot  over  the  parapet  with  small  arms. 
In  the  southwest  bastion  was  a  flag-staff,  and  in  the 
side,  near  the  opposite  angle,  was  the  gate,  in  front  of 
which  was  a  triangular  breast-work  to  protect  the  gate ; 
and  to  the  right  of  this  was  a  redoubt,  with  a  three- 
pounder  in  it,  which  was  about  120  yards  from  the 
gate.  Between  the  fort  and  the  river  was  another  bat 
tery,  with  a  covered  way,  but  which  could  not  be  used 
in  this  attack,  as  the  enemy  appeared  in  a  different 
quarter.  The  garrison,  with  the  volunteers,  consisted 
of  about  1 60  men.  Soon  after  our  arrival  the  enemy 
appeared  in  force  in  some  woods  about  half  a  mile 
southeast  of  the  fort,  from  whence  they  sent  a  flag  of 
truce,  which  was  met  by  Captain  Shapley,  demanding 
an  unconditional  surrender,  threatening  at  the  same 
time,  to  storm  the  fort  instantly  if  the  terms  were  not 


Stephen  Hempstead's  Narrative.  49 

accepted.1  A  council  of  war  was  held,  and  it  was  the 
unanimous  voice,  that  the  garrison  were  unable  to  de 
fend  themselves  against  so  superior  a  force.  But  a 
militia  colonel  who  was  then  in  the  fort,  and  had  a 
body  of  men  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  said  he  would 
reinforce  them  with  2  or  300  men  in  fifteen  minutes,  if 
they  would  hold  out.  Colonel  Ledyard  agreed  to  send 
back  a  defiance,  upon  the  most  solemn  assurance  of 
immediate  succor.  For  this  purpose  Colonel  - 
started,  his  men  being  then  in  sight ;  but  he  was  no 
more  seen,  nor  did  he  even  attempt  a  diversion  in  our 
favor.  When  the  answer  to  their  demand  had  been 
returned  by  Captain  Shapley,  the  enemy  were  soon  in 
motion,  and  marched  with  great  rapidity,  in  a  solid 
column,  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  fort,  where, 
dividing  the  column,  they  rushed  furiously  and  simul 
taneously  to  the  assault  of  the  southwest  bastion  and 
the  opposite  sides.  They  were,  however,  repulsed  with 
great  slaughter,  their  commander  mortally  wounded, 
and  Major  Montgomery,  next  in  rank,  killed,  having 
been  thrust  through  the  body,  whilst  in  the  act  of  scal 
ing  the  walls  at  the  southwest  bastion,  by  Captain 
Shapley.  The  command  then  devolved  on  Colonel 
Beckwith,  a  refugee  from  New  Jersey,  who  commanded 
a  corps  of  that  description.  The  enemy  rallied  and 
returned  the  attack  with  great  vigor,  but  were  received 
and  repulsed  with  equal  firmness.  During  the  attack 
a  shot  cut  the  halyards  of  the  flag,  and  it  fell  to  the 
ground,  but  was  instantly  remounted  on  a  pike-pole.2 

1  Lieutenant-colonel  Eyre  formed   his  men  behind  the  ledge  of  rocks 
which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the   burial-ground.     Major  Mont 
gomery's  column  formed  in  the  rear  of  a  hillock,  a  short  distance  north 
east  of  that  point. 

2  Luke  Perkins  is  said,  without  contradiction  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  to 
have  been  the  one  who  performed  the  action  here  described.  — A. 

4 


50  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

This  accident  proved  fatal  to  us,  as  the  enemy  sup 
posed  it  had  been  struck  by  its  defenders,  rallied  again, 
and  rushing  with  redoubled  impetuosity,  carried  the 
southwest  bastion  by  storm.  Until  this  moment  our 
loss  was  trifling  in  number,  being  six  or  seven  killed, 
and  eighteen  or  twenty  wounded.  Never  was  a  post 
more  bravely  defended,  nor  a  garrison  more  barba 
rously  butchered.  We  fought  with  all  kinds  of  weap 
ons,  and  at  all  places,  with  a  courage  that  deserved  a 
better  fate.1  Many  of  the  enemy  were  killed  under  the 
walls  by  throwing  simple  shot  over  on  them,2  and  never 


1  John  Daboll,  one  of  the  garrison,  discharged  his  musket  no  less  than 
seven  times  at  one  particular  soldier,  who  also  seems  to  have  singled  him 
out  as  his  opponent.     The  singular  duel  was  terminated   by  the   eighth 
shot  from  the  enemy  carrying  away  the  lock  of  DabolPs  musket,  arid  se 
verely  wounding  him  in  the  head.     This  incident  was  related  to  the  writer 
by  an  old  gentleman  now  living  in  Groton,  who  had  frequently  heard  the 
story  from  Daboll.  —  H. 

Thomas,  son  of  Lieutenant  Parke  Avery,  aged  seventeen,  was  killed 
fighting  by  the  side  of  his  father.  Just  before  he  fell  (the  battle  growing 
hot)  the  father  turned  and  said,  "  Tom,  my  son,  do  your  duty  !  "  "  Never 
fear,  father,"  was  the  reply,  and  the  next  moment  he  was  stretched  upon 
the  ground.  "  'Tis  a  good  cause,"  said  the  father,  and  he  remained  firm 
at  his  post.  —  Caulkins. 

Lieut.  Avery  had  another  son  near  three  years  old  at  this  time  named  in 
honor  of  his  fellow-townsman,  one  of  the  Continental  agents  in  France, — 
Silas  Deane  Avery.  After  the  battle,  in  honor  of  the  young  hero,  Silas 
Deaire  was  changed  for  Thomas,  a  name  more  strongly  demanding  of  him 
affection  and  reverence  than  that  of  diplomatic  agent  or  statesman,  how 
ever  eminent,  who  had  not  with  his  blood  sealed  his  belief  in  resistance 
to  George  III.  —  A. 

2  Samuel  Edgcomb,  Jr.>  of  a  family  justly  celebrated  for  the  great  size  and 
strength  of  its  members,  hurled  iS-pound  shot,  one  with  each  hand,  upon 
the  assailants  with  fearful  effect,  as  they,  after  breaking  through  the  fraiz- 
ing  attempted  to  scale  the  ramparts.     After  the  enemy  gained  the  fort  on 
the  other  side,  and  the  massacre  became  general,  further  resistance  being 
useless,  he  dropped  on  the  ground  among  the  wounded  and  dead,  escaping 
with  a  wound  in  the   right  hand.     He  was  afterwards  ordered  to   assist 
in  the  removal  of  the  wounded,  as   his  son,  Daniel  D.  Edgcomb,  now  of 
Mystic  River,  remembers  his  statement  that  he  carried  off  upon  his  back 


Stephen  Hempslead  s  Narrative.  5 1 

would  we  have  relinquished  our  arms,  had  we  had  the 
least  idea  that  such  a  catastrophe  would  have  followed. 
To  describe  this  scene  I  must  be  permitted  to  go  back 
a  little  in  my  narrative.  I  commanded  an  eighteen- 
pounder  on  the  south  side  of  the  gate,  and  while  in  the 
act  of  righting  my  gun,  a  ball  passed  through  the  em 
brasure,  struck  me  a  little  above  the  right  ear,  grazing 
the  skull,  and  cutting  off  the  veins,  which  bled  pro 
fusely.  A  handkerchief  was  tied  around  it,  and  I  con 
tinued  at  my  duty.  Discovering,  some  little  time  after, 
that  a  British  soldier  had  broken  a  picket  at  the  bas 
tion  on  my  left,  and  was  forcing  himself  through  the 
hole,  whilst  the  men  stationed  there  were  gazing  at  the 
battle  which  raged  opposite  to  them,  cried,  "my  brave 
fellows,  the  enemy  are  breaking  in  behind  you,"  and 
raised  my  pike  to  dispatch  the  intruder,  when  a  ball 
struck  my  left  arm  at  the  elbow,  and  my  pike  fell  to 
the  ground.  Nevertheless,  I  grasped  it  with  my  right 
hand,  and  with  the  men,  who  turned  and  fought  man 
fully,  cleared  the  breach.  The  enemy,  however,  soon 
after  forced  the  southwest  bastion,  where  Captain 
Shapley,  Captain  Peter  Richards,  Lieutenant  Richard 
Chapman,  and  several  other  men  of  distinction,  and 
volunteers,  had  fought  with  unconquerable  courage, 
and  were  all  either  killed  or  mortally  wounded,  and 
which  had  sustained  the  brunt  of  every  attack. 

Captain  P.  Richards,  Lieutenant  Chapman,  and  sev 
eral  others,  were  killed  in  the  bastion  ;  Captain  Shap- 


Daniel  Elclriclge,  who  was  wounded  in  the  knee.  Samuel  E.  was  plough 
ing  for  rye  at  the  time  of  the  alarm  and  left  for  the  fort  at  once,  not  stop 
ping  to  loose  his  oxen.  He  was  21  years  of  age,  and  died  at  the  age  of  83 
years,  at  the  old  homestead  on  the  west  slope  of  Fort  Hill,  in  the  same 
house  in  which  he  was  born.  His  brother  Gilbert  was  carried  away  pris 
oner.  —  A. 


52  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

ley  and  others  wounded.     He  died  of  his  wounds   in 
January l  following. 

Colonel  Ledyard,  seeing  the  enemy  within  the  fort, 
gave  orders  to  cease  firing,  and  to  throw  down  our 
arms,  as  the  fort  had  surrendered.  We  did  so,  but  they 
continued  firing  upon  us,  crossed  the  fort  and  opened 
the  gate,  when  they  marched  in,  firing  in  platoons 
upon  those  who  were  retreating  to  the  magazine  and 
barrack-rooms  for  safety.  At  this  moment  the  ren 
egade  Colonel  Beckwith  commanding,  cried  out,  "Who 
commands  this  garrison  ?  "  Colonel  Ledyard,  who 
was  standing  near  me,  answered,  "  I  did  sir,  but  you  do 
now,"  at  the  same  time  stepping  forward,  handed  him 
his- sword  with  the  point  towards  himself.  At  this  in 
stant  I  perceived  a  soldier  in  the  act  of  bayoneting  me 
from  behind.  I  turned  suddenly  round  and  grasped 
his  bayonet,  endeavoring  to  unship  it,  and  knock  off 
the  thrust,  but  in  vain.  Having  but  one  hand,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  forcing  it  into  my  right  hip,  above  the  joint, 
and  just  below  the  abdomen,  and  crushed  me  to  the 
ground.  The  first  person  I  saw  afterwards  was  my 
bfave  commander,  a  corpse  by  my  side,  having  been 
run  through  the  body  with  his  own  sword,  by  the 
savage  renegade.2  Never  was  a  scene  of  more  brutal 
wanton  carnage  witnessed  than  now  took  place.  The 
enemy  were  still  firing  upon  us  in  platoons,  and  in  the 
barrack-rooms,  which  were  continued  for  some  min 
utes,  when  they  discovered  they  were  in  danger  of  be 
ing  blown  up,  by  communicating  fire  to  the  powder 

1  Shapley's  death  occurred  February  I4th,  as  per  his  tombstone.  —  A. 

2  The  chivalrous  Ledyard  seems  to  have  felt  a  premonition  of  impend 
ing  calamity  from  the  beginning.     On  stepping  into  the  boat  to  cross  from 
New  London  on  that  morning,  he   remarked   to  friends  gathered   about 
him,  "  If  this  day  I  lose  my  honor  or  my  life,  which  it  will  be,  you  who 
know  me,  can  tell  already." 


Stephen  Hempstea<fs  Narrative.  53 

scattered  at  the  mouth  of  the  magazine  while  deliver 
ing  out  cartridges  ;  nor  did  it  then  cease  in  the  rooms 
for  some  minutes  longer.  All  this  time  the  bayonet 
was  "  freely  used,"  even  on  those  who  were  helplessly 
wounded  and  in  the  agonies  of  death.  I  recollect 
Captain  William  Seymour,1  a  volunteer  from  Hartford, 
had  thirteen  bayonet  wounds,  although  his  knee  had 
previously  been  shattered  by  a  ball,  so  much  so,  that 
it  was  obliged  to  be  amputated  the  next  day.  But  I 
need  not  mention  particular  cases.  I  have  already 
said  that  we  had  six  killed  and  eighteen  wounded  pre 
vious  to  their  storming  our  lines ;  eighty-five  were 
killed  in  all,  thirty-five  mortally  and  dangerously 
wounded,  and  forty  taken  prisoners  to  New  York, 
most  of  them  slightly  hurt. 

After  the  massacre  they  plundered  us  of  everything 
we  had,  and  left  us  literally  naked.  When  they  com 
menced  gathering  us  up,  together  with  their  own 
wounded,  they  put  theirs  under  the  shade  of  the  plat 
form,  and  exposed  us  to  the  sun,  in  front  of  the  bar 
racks,  where  we  remained  over  an  hour.  Those  that 
could  stand  were  then  paraded,  and  ordered  to  the 
landing,  while  those  that  could  not  (of  which  number  I 
was  one)  were  put  in  one  of  our  ammunition  wagons, 
and  taken  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  (which  was  very  steep, 
and  at  least  one  hundred  rods  in  descent),  from  whence 
it  was  permitted  to  run  down  by  itself,  but  was  arrested 
in  its  course,  near  the  river,  by  an  apple-tree.  The  pain 
and  anguish  we  all  endured  in  this  rapid  descent,  as  the 
wagon  jumped  and  jostled  over  rocks  and  holes,  is  in 
conceivable  ;  and  the  jar  in  its  arrest  was  like  bursting 
the  cords  of  life  asunder,  and  caused  us  to  shriek  with 

1  Nephew  of  Colonel   Ledyard. 


54  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

almost  supernatural  force.  Our  cries  were  distinctly 
heard  and  noticed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
(which  is  a  mile  wide1),  amidst  all  the  confusion  which 
raged  in  burning  and  sacking  the  town.  We  remained 
in  the  wagon  more  than  an  hour  before  our  humane 
conquerors  hunted  us  up,  when  we  were  again  paraded 
and  laid  on  the  beach,  preparatory  to  embarkation  ; 
but,  by  the  interposition  of  Ebenezer  Ledyard,  brother 
to  Colonel  Ledyard,  who  humanely  represented  our 
deplorable  situation  and  the  impossibility  of  our  being 
able  to  reach  New  York,  thirty-five  of  us  were  paroled 
in  the  usual  form.  Being  near  the  house  of  Ebenezer 
Avery,  who  was  also  one  of  our  number,  we  were  taken 
into  it.  Here  we  had  not  long  remained  before  a 
marauding  party  set  fire  to  every  room,  evidently  in 
tending  to  burn  us  up  with  the  house.  The  party 
soon  left  it,  when  it  was  with  difficulty  extinguished, 
and  we  were  thus  saved  from  the  flames.2  Ebenezer 
Ledyard  again  interfered,  and  obtained  a  sentinel  to 
remain  and  guard  us  until  the  last  of  the  enemy  em 
barked,  —  about  1 1  o'clock  at  night.  None  of  our  own 
people  came  to  us  till  near  daylight  the  next  morning, 
not  knowing  previous  to  that  time  that  the  enemy 
had  departed. 

Such  a  night  of  distress  and  anguish  was  scarcely 
ever  passed  by  mortal.  Thirty-five  of  us  were  lying 
on  the  bare  floor,  stiff,  mangled,  and  wounded  in  every 
manner,  exhausted  with  pain,  fatigue,  and  loss  of 
blood,  without  clothes  or  anything  to  cover  us, 

1  He  gives  here  the  popular  estimate  of  the  width  of  the  river,  current 
even  now.     It  was  measured  on  the  ice  in  January,  1821,  and,  from  the 
present  ferry  wharf  to  the  opposite  shore,  it  was  found  to  be  144  rods,  or 
16  rods  less  than  half  a  mile. —  A. 

2  This  house  is  on  the  right  side  of  the  main  street,  south  of  the  ferry  ; 
it  is  now  occupied  by  Simon  Huntington,  Esq. 


Stephen  Hemps  tead's  Narrative.  55 

trembling  with  cold  and  spasms  of  extreme  anguish 
without  fire  or  light,  parched  with  excruciating  thirst, 
not  a  wound  dressed,  nor  a  soul  to  administer  to  one 
of  our  wants,  nor  an  assisting  hand  to  turn  us  during 
these  long,  tedious  hours  of  the  night.  Nothing  but 
groans  and  unavailing  sighs  were  heard,  and  two  of 
our  number  did  not  live  to  see  the  light  of  the  morn 
ing,  which  brought  with  it  some  ministering  angels  to 
our  relief.  The  first  was  in  the  person  of  Miss  Fanny 
Ledyard,  of  Southold,  L.  I.,1  then  on  a  visit  to  her 
uncle,  our  murdered  commander,  who  held  to  my  lips 
a  cup  of  warm  chocolate,  and  soon  after  returned  with 
wine  and  other  refreshments,  which  revived  us  a  little. 
For  these  kindnesses  she  has  never  ceased  to  receive 
my  most  grateful  thanks,  and  fervent  prayers  for  her 
felicity. 

The  cruelty  of  our  enemy  cannot  be  conceived,  and 
our  renegade  countrymen  surpassed  in  this  respect,  if 
possible,  our  British  foes.  We  were  at  least  an  hour 
after  the  battle  within  a  few  steps  of  a  pump  in  the 
garrison,  well  supplied  with  water,  and,  although  we 
were  suffering  with  thirst,  they  would  not  permit  us  to 
take  one  drop  of  it,  nor  give  us  any  themselves.  Some 
of  our  number,  who  were  not  disabled  from  going  to 
the  pump,  were  repulsed  with  the  bayonet ;  and  not 
one  drop  did  I  taste  after  the  action  commenced, 
although  begging  for  it  after  I  was  wounded  of  all  who 
came  near  me,  until  relieved  by  Miss  Ledyard.  We 
were  a  horrible  sight  at  this  time.  Our  own  friends 
did  not  know  us.  Even  my  own  wife  came  in  the 
room  in  search  of  me,  and  did  not  recognize  me,  and 

1  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  this  was  a  sister  of  John  Ledyard,  the 
traveler,  who  was  a  nephew  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  and  whose  mother  and 
sister  lived  on  Long  Island  at  the  time.  —  A. 


56  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

as  I  did  not  see  her,  she  left  the  room  to  seek  for  me 
among  the  slain,  who  had  been  collected  under  a  large 
elm-tree  near  the  house.  It  was  with  the  utmost  diffi 
culty  that  many  of  them  could  be  identified,  and  we 
were  frequently  called  upon  to  assist  their  friends  in 
distinguishing  them,  by  remembering  particular  wounds, 
&c.  Being  myself  taken  out  by  two  men  for  this  pur 
pose,  I  met  my  wife  and  brother,  who,  after  my  wounds 
were  dressed  by  Dr.  Downer,  from  Preston,  took  me 
—  not  to  my  own  home,  for  that  was  in  ashes,  as  also 
every  article  of  my  property,  furniture,  and  clothing  — 
but  to  my  brother's,  where  I  lay  eleven  months  as  help 
less  as  a  child,  and  to  this  day  feel  the  effects  of  it 
severely. 

Such  was  the  battle  of  Groton  Heights  ;  and  such, 
as  far  as  my  imperfect  manner  and  language  can  de 
scribe,  a  part  of  the  sufferings  which  we  endured. 
Never,  for  a  moment,  have  I  regretted  the  share  I  had 
in  it.  I  would,  for  an  equal  degree  of  honor,  and  the 
prosperity  which  has  resulted  to  my  country  from  the 
Revolution,  be  willing,  if  possible,  to  suffer  it  again. 

STEPHEN    HEMPSTEAD. 


STEPHEN    HEMPSTEAD,   >E.   76. 

A  soldier  of  the  Connecticut  or  Continental  Line,  from  May,  1775,  ''"  '7^2-  In 
the  battle  of  liunker  Hill ;  a  sergeant  under  Capt.  Nathan  Hale;  left  for  dead 
at  Harlem  Plains  ;  and  wounded  in  defence  of  Fort  Griswold,  September  6,  1781. 
He  died  in  1831,  aged  77. 

Engraved  from  it  miniature  painted  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  fSjo. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

OF 

STEPHEN    HEMPSTEAD. 

STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD,  son  of  Stephen  and 
Sarah  Hempstead,  lineal  descendant  of  Robert 
Hempstead,  one  of  the  chief  settlers  of  the  town,  was 
born  in  New  London,  Conn.  May  6,  1754.  In  the 
summer  of  1775  he  was  lieutenant  of  a  guard  of  15 
or  20  men  under  Capt.  Nathaniel  Saltonstall,  which 
in  the  first  movement  to  screen  the  country  from  in 
vasion,  manned  the  old  fort  in  New  London  on  the 
parade  near  the  water's  edge. 

On  the  spilling  of  the  first  American  blood  at  Lex 
ington  i  gth  April,  1775,  he  volunteered  (May  6th)  as 
a  private  soldier  into  the  service  of  his  country.  He 
went  from  New  London  to  Boston,  served  a  term  of 
seven  months  and  was  present  at  the  affairs  of  Cam 
bridge,  Bunker's  (Breed's)  Hill,  and  Roxbury,  and  had 
the  pleasure  to  see  the  British  evacuate  Boston.  Upon 
the  expiration  of  his  first  term  (December  loth),  he 
entered  the  service  for  a  second  term,  as  a  sergeant  in 
Capt.  Nathan  Hale's  company  and  marched  to  New 
York. 

Hale's  company  was  part  of  Col.  Webb's  regiment 
Continental  troops. 

The  British  now  occupied  Long  Island  and  New 
York  city,  and  the  Americans  lay  on  Haerlem  Heights. 


Sketch  of  Stephen  Hempstead.  59 

General  Washington,  anxious  to  know  the  strength 
and  position  of  the  enemy,  engaged  Capt.  Hale  to  ex 
amine  it.  Hempstead  accompanied  him  to  the  point 
of  his  departure  from  the  Connecticut  shore,  took 
charge  of  his  uniform  and  valuables  that  it  was  not 
safe  to  take  on  a  tour  through  the  British  camp.  As 
Hale  lost  his  life  on  this  expedition,  and  his  enemies 
buried  him  like  a  dog,  Hempstead  was  the  last  com 
panion  in  arms,  perhaps  the  last  friend,  who  saw  him. 

Mr.  Hempstead  followed  General  Washington  in 
the  noble  retreat  from  Long  Island  September,  1776. 
He,  under  Thos.  Updike  Fosdick,  with  sixteen  men, 
mostly  New  London  boys,  volunteered  to  go  in  one  of 
the  fireships  directed  by  the  General  to  burn  the  Asia, 
a  man-of-war  of  84  guns,  then  in  the  Hudson  River 
above  New  York.  Was  grappled  to  her  for  twenty 
minutes,  and  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  cannon  and 
small  arms  of  the  Asia  and  a  frigate,  without  having  a 
man  killed ;  and  though  unsuccessful,  the  expedition 
was  so  satisfactory  to  General  Washington  that  he 
thanked  them  in  General  Orders  and  directed  $40  to 
be  paid  to  each  man.  October  27th,  Mr.  H.  was  on 
Haerlem  Heights  and  had  two  ribs  broken  by  the 
grape-shot  from  a  British  field  piece.  He  was  left  for 
dead,  and  did  not  recover  from  his  wound  till  the  ex 
piration  of  his  term  of  service  in  1777.  The  next  year 
he  entered  into  the  State  service  of  Connecticut,  and 
on  the  capture  of  Fort  Trumbull  September  6,  1781, 
he  crossed  under  fire  to  Fort  Griswold  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  Thames  at  New  London.  Here  he 
was  again  severely  wounded.  The  capture  of  the  fort 
exposed  the  town  of  New  London.  It  was  sacked  and 
burnt  by  the  "  Traitor  Arnold."  Mr.  Hempstead's  fam 
ily  lived  there  and  shared  the  fate  of  the  place.  Their 


60  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

house  and  property  was  destroyed,  and  his  wife,  nee 
Mary  Lewis,  with  some  young  children,1  and  afflicted 
with  the  small-pox,  fled  six  miles  through  the  country. 
Mr.  Hempstead  did  not  again  enter  the  army.  Soon 
after,  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  put  an  end  to  hostili 
ties.  It  was  twelve  months  before  he  recovered  of  his 
wounds.  He  moved  to  St.  Louis  in  1811,  where  he 
died  in  1831. 

1  One  of  these  "young  children  "  was  Edward  Hempstead,  born  1780, 
afterward  first  member  of  Congress  from  all  the  country  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  River,  from  whose  memoir  written  1818  by  his  friend  Col. 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  author  of  Thirty  Years  in  United  States  Senate,  I 
have  taken  much  of  the  above  account  of  Hempstead,  Sr.  —  A. 


NARRATIVE 


OF 


JOHN    HEMPSTED.1 

I  NOW  Setdown  to  give  a  narrative  of  My  proseding 
on  the  6th  Day  of  Sept.,  1781.  All  tho  itt  is  forty- 
eight  years  Sense  the  town  of  New  London  was  Sack'd 
and  Burnt  By  the  British  Solders  under  the  command 
of  that  infamos  trater  Benedick  Arnel,  itt  is  formillyer 
as  iff  it  was  transacted  yesterday.  In  the  morning  of 
the  sd  day  I  was  att  my  house  in  bed,  between  Brake 
of  Day  and  Sunrise.  I  hard  the  Signel  of  an-larm  2  by 
the  fireing  of  thre  Cannon,  althow  Our  Signol  was  two 
cannon  near  to  gether ;  they  fir'd  3  to  Deceve ;  how 
ever  I  turn'd  Out  and  ask'd  my  wife  to  git  Brakefast 
as  soon  as  possabel  for  I  must  go  off.  I  went  Down 
on  the  hill  about  half  mild  Distant,  now  caled  prospect 
hill,  Whare  the  fleet  was  in  fare  Site  in  a  line  acrost 
the  haber.  There  was  15  Sale  of  Ships  an  other 
Square  rig'd  Vessels,  besides  other  Vesels.  I  came 

1  That  Mr.  Hempsted  was  a  laborious  writer  whose  thoughts  outran 
his  pen  is  evident  from  the  interlineations  and  omissions  of  words  in  the 
manuscript ;  that  he  was  a  careless  speller  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  "  fort  "  is 
spelled  correctly  at  first  and  afterward  in  four  ways.  Manwaring  is  right 
and  wrong  almost  in  the  same  line,  while  the  free  use  of  capitals,  strange 
as  it  may  seem  to  us  now,  is  in  accordance  with  the  habit  of  the  time  in 
which  he  was  educated.  —  A. 

"  I  find  in  orders  and  other  manuscripts  of  the  time  this  word  either  an- 
larm  or  a-larum. — A. 


6a  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

home.  My  brakefast  was  redy.  After  Brakefast  I 
Said  to  my  Son  John  to  take  the  team  &  go  intown 
and  Bring  out  his  granmother  Bill.  My  hors  Being 
redy  I  Slung  my  Musket  &  Cartrig  Box  and  mounted 
with  my  littel  Black  Boy  to  bring  the  hors  Back.  Ex- 
peting  to  find  people  att  the  alarum  post  at  Manwar- 
ings  hill.  After  I  got  Under  Way  my  wife  Called  to 
me  prety  loud.  I  Stopt  my  hors  and  ask'd  her  What 
She  wanted.  Her  answer  was  Not  to  let  me  hear  that 
you  are  Shot  in  the  Back. 

I  proseded  to  the  alarum  post  and  found  nobody 
thare.  I  rode  down  into  the  Strete,  where  my  father 
formerly  liv'd,  and  gave  up  my  hors  to  my  black  Boy, 
and  Started  on  a  foot,  which  was  on  my  way  to  my  Lit 
Collon  harris,  but  was  overtaken  by  Capt.  John  Deshon 
and  Capt.  Mickel  Malley.  They  asked  mee  to  gitt  up 
Behind  One  of  thim  &  I  Did,  but  I  hav  forgot  which. 
We  Sune  got  to  Col.  Haris,  &  I  Saw  him  Standing 
on  his  Dore  Stone.  I  Slipt  of  the  hors  &  met  the 
Colo  half  the  way  from  his  house  to  the  highway  with 
a  Short  willow  Stick  in  his  hand.  My  reply  to  him 
was  what  is  the  news  Colo?  he  replid  the  Enemy  are 
landing  att  Brown's  farm.  What  is  the  order  ?  his 
answer,  go  Down  &  make  the  best  Defence  you  Can 
with  what  men  you  Can  gitt.  I  hope  you  will  go  with 
me.  his  answer,  I  have  Ben  Sencherd  for  not  giving 
timely  notis.  You  had  Beter  go  with  mee  &  So  wee 
parted.  I  went  Down  to  Brown's  farm.  I  got  there 
Sometime  Before  they  landed  &  there  was  But  About 
forty  men  arm'd.  Wee  watted  while  the  enemy  was 
maning  there  botes.  After  they  ware  all  mand  they 
Opend  there  brode  Sides  upon  Both  Shores,  and  all 
landed  under  ther  Cannon  whos  balls  flew  over  Our 
heads  like  hale  Stones  untill  they  ware  all  landed,  itt 


Narrative  of  John  Hemps  ted.  63 

was  verry  Still,  there  was  One  man  Drest  in  Red 
Stud  up  in  the  Starn  of  One  of  the  botes,  with  his 
Sword  Drawn  &  Brandishing  itt  Over  his  head,  &  Said 
Pull  a  way,  God  Dam  you,  Pull  away,  which  I  thaught 
wass  arnald.  the  men  Sune  landed  and  form'd  a  line 
from  Lester'  gut  to  the  White  Beach  &  the  Enemy  ad- 
Vanced  with  a  Slow  march  untill  they  got  upon  high 
Ground,  &  then  they  went  quick  from  one  wall  to 
another,  and  wee  Retreted  Exchangen  Shot  every 
Opertunty.  We  Continued  untill  wee  Brought  them 
within  Cannon  Shot  of  the  foart  On  town  hill,  Vulgarly 
Called  fort  Nonsence.  When  the  forte  opened  upon 
the  Enemy  the  Shot  fell  Short,  &  wee  ware  between 
two  fires.  Capt.  Wm.  Coit  Spoke  to  me  as  he  had  no 
Commanding  ofesser,  for  God  Sake  Send  or  go  to  the 
fort  to  Stop  the  fireing.  I  told  him  to  go  him  Self, 
he  Repld  that  he  had  no  Command.  I  told  him  then 
go  in  my  name,  &  he  Went,  &  the  firing  Seased.  We 
Retreted,  and  Sune  got  near  the  fort  att  the  house  of 
Wm.  Hempsted.  he  Caled  to  mee  and  Asked  me  iff 
I  wolde  take  Sum  jinn.  I  told  him  yes  &  thanky  two. 
I  went  to  his  dore  next  the  Street,  &  he  had  a  Case  of 
holland  Jinn,  which  was  well  Excepted.  Wm.  was 
harnest  redy  to  march  as  itt  hapen'd-Capt.  Willam 
Coit,  &  Capt.  Richard  Deshon,  Capt.  Jonathan  Cal 
kins,  &  Capt.  Nathll  Salstanstell,  which  I  Hed  not 
Sean  before  that  day.  We  all  Drank  &  Desperst, 
Wm.  Hempsted  and  all.  I  spoke  to  Sd  Hempsted  if 
he  was  going  to  leave  his  Case  of  jin  there;  he  Said 
itt  was  no  matter  whare  it  was,  the  Dogs  will  find  itt. 
Come  take  hold  of  One  handil,  and  wee  Carred  itt 
west  of  his  house,  about  Six  rod,  to  a  pease  of  patoes 
with  high  weads,  &  wee  bent  the  weades  over  them 
&  they  never  fownd  the  case  of  jinn.  And  then  wee 


64  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Despers'd.  While  wee  ware  there  I  presev'd  that  the 
Enemy  fil'd  of  from  the  left,  as  thoe  there  Intention 
was  to  Soround  the  fort,  by  this  time  there  wass 
more  peopel  got  there,  &  I  spoke  to  them.  Who  will 
goe  along  with  mee  ?  Mr.  George  Smith  sd  I  will  go. 
With  that  two  more  Said  I  will  go  with  you,  &  wee 
went  to  the  northwest  over  the  hill,  and  we  posted  Our 
Selves  In  a  Very  advatagos  place.  We  Soon  Saw 
thee  enemy  Comming ;  wee  Saw  ther  bagnert  above 
the  corn  advancing  in  a  Ingan  file.  We  before  the 
Enemy  made  any  Stand  we  a  gread  to  Reserve  our 
fire,  they  Said  One  and  all  lit  Us  fire.  I  told  them  I 
would  reserve  my  fire  and  wate  for  Orders.  Very 
Will,  the  Enemy  by  this  time  had  got  up  to  a  Stone 
wall  about  Six  rods  in  Our  frunt.  this  Wall  was  on 
Our  lefhand.  When  they  ware  12  or  15  in  number  I 
gave  the  word  fire,  it  was  no  Suner  Sad  then  Dun. 
the  Enemy  return'd  the  fire,  but  the  men  went  to  the 
foart  as  I  supos'd.  By  this  time  perhaps  25  men  had 
Got  in  a  huddel.  I  arose  took  Good  ame.  I  Sea  that 
they  ware  Confused.  I  took  a  cartrig  out  of  my  Box. 
But  they  Sune  return'd  the  fire.  But  Before  I  could 
Load  my  pease  two  men  with  grene  Cotes  and  long 
fethers  gumt  over  the  wall  with  ther  peases  upon  Re 
cover.  I  Remembr  what  I  thought.  I  can  git  as  fur 
from  the  Wall  as  they  ware.  I  run  towarde  the  fort, 
that  was  about  30  Rod  Distant.  I  had  got  but  about 
Six  Rod  from  the  wall.  1  look'd  Over  my  Sholder 
when  their  Guns  flasht,  but  hapy  for  mee  one  of  thir 
balls  Struck  a  potato  hill,  clos  by  my  feet,  and  the  other 
whistled  by  my  hed.  I  Rember  what  I  thaught  that 
they  ware  not  Very  good  marks  men. 

I  Repar'd  to  the  fort  and  found  nobody  there.     I 


Narrative  oj  John  Hemps  ted.  65 

found  a  quille  '  of  Riging  on  the  prade.  I  Rold  itt 
under  the  platform  &  went  Out  of  the  Gates,  &  turned 
to  the  right  into  the  Intrenchment,  &  as  I  was  in  the 
intrenchment  the  Enemy  fired  upon  Mee  &  ther  Shot 
scoward  the  Dich  On  both  Sides  of  Mee.  I  got 
Round  the  corner  &  was  Sum  putoit2  to  get  up  the 
dich.  however  I  got  up  &  over  in  Esq.  millers  Or 
chard,  which  was  Very  thick  and  ful  of  leaves.  By 
this  time  the  Enemy  got  into  the  fort  &  husard,  and 
they  were  answerd  By  a  man,  "  Wilkom  God  damyou 
to  fort  Non  Sence."  I  look  and  Saw  the  man  behind 
a  tree.  I  got  behind  another  &  they  gave  Us  a  Shot 
in  the  orchard,  but  to  no  purpus.  I  mad  the  beste  of 
my  way  touards  town.  I  got  near  David  holtes,  Now 
John  Coites,  I  heard  Cannon  On  Manorng  hill.  I 
made  my  way  to  the  sd  hill  cross  lots  there.  I  found 
•2  feald  peases,  &  Near  a  hundred  men  Olmost  un- 
arm'd.  there  I  found  Capt.  Richard  Deshon  &  Wm. 
Ashcraft,  which  Stuck  By  the  Stuff,  when  as  the  Ene- 
my  advanced  they  all  left  us,  But  wee  gave  them  two 
Shot,  as  the  Enemy  apeard  in  Sight  the  peaple  all 
fled  but  Capt.  Deshon  &  Wm.  Ashcraft.  I  told  Capt. 
Deshon  we  would  not  be  kild  with  Our  One  wepens. 
I  Sholderd  a  Sack  of  Cartridg's  &  Deshon  the  Ramer 
&  Spunge  Ladel,  and  put  them  under  the  Brig  By 
Chapman  house,  &  I  put  the  Cartridges  In  Robart 
Manworings  lott  and  Bent  the  tops  of  weds  over  them. 
I  niver  Saw  Deshon  after  that  for  the  day.  After  I 
hid  the  Cartrgs  I  went  down  the  hill.  I  intended  to 
git  Behind  Rich'd  Chapmans  Barn.  I  Rec'd  a  Volly 
of  Shot  I  Judg'd  about  20.  the  Shot  Cut  thrugh  the 
grass  on  Both  Sid  of  me.  —  I  must  Riturn  back  to 

1  Coil  of  rigging.  2  Put  to  it. 


66  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

manworing  hill,  before  Wee  left  the  hill  I  Spok  to 
Wm.  ashcraft  to  go  to  Chapmans  house  &  get  Sun- 
thing  to  Spike  up  the  Guns,  &  I  Spoke  Sumthing 
Starn  to  him,  &  he  Stopt  &  said  there  will  bee  nobody 
har  when  I  Com  Back,  yes  I  will  be  hear,  hee  went, 
my  speaking  Loud  Sumbody  Cald  to  me  and  Said, 
what  Do  you  want,  &  I  look'd  &  itt  wass  Coin  Haris, 
whith  I  never  see  Sense  morning  with  the  same  Stick, 
harris  went  into  the  house  &  brought  Out  the  Shank 
of  a  Spike  Gimblet,  which  answered  no  purpos.  I 
riturn'd  Behind  Chapmans  Barn.  I  went  from  the 
Barn  toward  the  highway  to  a  pare  of  Bars,  &  as  I  was 
Citing  over  the  Bars,  a  musket  Bal  stuck  into  the  lim 
of  a  apel  tree  that  Brancht  over  the  bars  about  two 
feet  from  my  head,  then  I  made  my  way  for  home  for 
this  Reason,  my  father  Died  Lately,  &  his  estate  not 
Setled,1  I  had  all  his  Books  &  papers  att  my  house. 
But  I  Coold  not  Git  horn  no  other  way  but  to  go 
round  mr.  Winthrops  house,  By  being  Sorround  by 
the  enemy.  I  had  not  got  more  than  half  the  way  to 
where  magor  Richards  after  liv'd  I  Saw  the  Enemy  on 
the  top  of  mr.  Winthrups  house.  I  maid  my  way  to 
qaker  hill,  &  there  I  found  I  Should  say  5  hunderd 
men,  sum  arm'd  &  sum  no  armes.  while  I  was  there 
majer  D arrow  Come  Riding  Down,  &  Said  to  the  men 


1  In  the  Gazette  of  September  yth,  the  day  following  the  battle,  is  the 
following  notice  : 

"All  persons  that  are  indebted  to  the  estate  of  JOHN  HEMPSTED, 
Esq.,  late  of  New  London,  decesd,  by  book  or  note,  are  once  more  called 
upon  in  the  most  pressing  manner  to  settle  the  same,  or  they  must  not 
take  it  amiss  if  after  this  notice  they  should  be  called  upon  in  a  more 
disagreeable  manner,  which  they  may  speclily  expect  (without  respect  of 
persons)  should  they  neglect  a  compliance  with  this  request. 

"JOHN  HEMPSTED,  Executor. 

"New  London,  Sept.  4th,  1781." 


Narrative  of  John  Hempsted  67 

why  the  Devel  dont  yoo  Go  down  &  meet  the  Enemy? 
Picket  Latimer  sd  as  he  was  there  that  he  would  not 
Resk  his  life  to  Save  other  mens  property,  tho  he  was 
the  Capt.  of  the  Endependt  Cumpany  att  that  time. 
(Latimer  was  Burnt  first.)  I  then  mad  the  best  of  my 
Way  hom  &  packt  up  my  fathers  papers  &  books  & 
Carid  them  into  the  Swamp  taking  my  Sun  John  & 
young  James  Smith  With  mee  that  they  might  find 
them  if  I  didnot  Come  Back.  I  Eat  my  Dinner  & 
Sett  out  agane  to  follow  the  Enemy,  but  passing 
Daniel  Latimers,  whare  I  supose  thare  was  a  hundred 
men,  I  past  them  and  had  gott  20  or  30  Rods  By,  Colo. 
Latimer  Cauld  to  me  to  Cum  back.  I  Repl'd  I  could 
not,  I  was  In  persute  of  the  enemy,  his  Reply  to  me 
was,  I  Command  You  to  com  back,  then  I  Stopt  & 
Went  back,  he  Detaned  mee  abot  onei  anower,  & 
Sent  with  me  2  other  men,  but  whilst  I  was  thare 
Capt.  John  mcCarty  &  David  Robart  Came  Riding 
up  to  the  Doare  and  Said  Whare  is  that  Dam'd  tory, 
&  they  Rusht  in  to  the  house,  &  I  Clost  to  there  heels, 
they  saing  whare  is  that  Damid  Tory,  they  was  stopt 
with  the  point  of  the  baganet,  by  a  Solder  that  stud 
as  a  gard  Over  Thos.  Fitch,  whih  ware  taken  near 
Black  point  with  a  Drove  of  Sheep  to  Send  to  the 
Enemy.  I  Return.  On  my  progres  from  Latimers  I 
Shapt  my  Cours  a  cross  lots,  in  Crossing  Samuel 
Garners  lot  about  forty  or  fifty  Rod  West  of  Robart 
Manworings  house,  I  Come  a  Crost  a  man  that  was 
Shot  Throug  the  body  with  a  musket  ball.  I  had 
sum  Descorse  with  him  &  found  out  who  hee  was.  I 
found  him  to  be  What  was  Cauled  A  Refege.  I  left 
him  &  past  on.  before  I  got  halv  way  from  Where 
John  Coits  now  lives  &  Col.  Harris,  I  mett  sum  men 
Brengin  Sam'el  B.  Hempsted  in  a  blanket,  he  had  a 


68  Battle  of  Grolon  Heights. 

Shot  throug  his  thi.  I  wint  a  littel  further  &  I  met 
Sum  more  men  Brengin  Jonathan  whaly  whih  was 
wounde.  the  Enemy  had  Gott  So  far  &  so  few  to  fol 
low,  I  Riturnd  back  into  the  town,  which  was  then  all 
in  ashes.  I  sot  to  Mr.  Shaws  Stone  house  whih  was 

o 

on  fire  on  the  Ruf.  this  must  Sarve  for  this  Day,  ex- 
epting  I  returnd  home  &  found  nearly  one  hundred 
peple  woming  &  Children.  The  next  Day  I  wint  to 
groten,  &  when  I  got  over  the  other  Side  there  I  saw 
Liet.  Richard  Chapman,  John  Holt,  &  John  Cleark,  in 
a  Bote  Dead  to  bee  Cared  to  New  London.  I  went 
to  the  fort  on  Groten  hill  to  See  the  Carnag  which 
was  Dredfull  to  Behold,  there  was  about  twenty  men 
lay  Dead  Side  by  Side,  we  found  one  man  under  the 
platfm  Dead,  &  there  ware  a  Great  many  of  the  enemy 
In  the  Ditch  Round  the  Redout,  which  is  before  the 
Gate,  how  many  I  Cant  tell,  for  they  ware  not  taken 
out  Whilst  I  was  there.  But  the  Enemy  Intended  to 
blow  up  the  fort  for  they  Stroed  a  train  of  powder 
from  the  gate  to  the  magesean  &  itt  burnt  from  the 
gate  about  half  way  to  the  magesean,  and  the  Comun- 
ication  was  cut  of  by  a  mans  fingers  which  Sean  in  the 
durt.  I  Stay'd  there  until  all  most  night  &  I  went 
home,  the  3  Day  I  took  my  hors  and  Went  to  town 
hill,  to  fourt  Nonsence,  as  itt  Was  Call'd,  &  as  I  was 

Seting  on  my  hors  looking  into  the  fort,  Mr.  William 
Hempstead  Called  to  mee.  I  asked  him  Watt  he 
Wanted,  his  answer  wass  Cum  &  Drink  Sum  of  Your 
Jin,  &  I  wint  to  him.  he  Sase  to  me  I  have  Got  the 
Jin.  the  Dogs  hav  not  found  itt.  through  your 
means  I  Saved  it.  He  said  to  me  which  way  did  you 
go  when  you  left  me.  I  told  him  that  I  was  Jellos  that 
the  enemy  was  Going  to  Surround  us  &  cut  us  of  from 


<;•• 


K; 


,    ,,    ,,,  ; 


Narrative  of  John  Hempsted.  69 

the  fort.  I  Saw  them  filing  of  from  there  left  Wing, 
as  tho  that  was  thar  Desine.  I  went  over  into  Mr. 
Ways  lot.  I  Saw  them  advans.  I  saw  ther  Byonets 
over  the  Growing  Corn,  &  wee  three  in  number  lay  In 
ambush  in  a  very  safe  place,  &  the  Enemy  advancin 
in  an  Indian  file,  they  advansed  to  a  Stone  Wall  that 
Coverd  our  left  hand.  Wee  lay  conseald  untill  they 
Gethered  ;  about  a  Dusen  or  fifteen  had  Colected.  I 
Bid  them  to  fire.  I  had  agred  before,  that  I  would 
Reserve  my  fire,  they  Ware  about  Six  rod  Distant 
from  us.  they  Deschargd  there  peases  &  run  to  the 
fort,  they  returnd  the  fire.  by  this  time  I  supose 
about  twenty  Colected.  then  I  arose  &  Gave  them  a 
Shot  &  Run  toward  the  fort.  Hempsted,  he  sade,  Did 
you  Know  you  kild  any  of  them.  I  Didnot  carting.1 
well  there  Was  two  Kild,  and  wee  went  to  See,  &  It 
was  as  Evident  as  that  there  had  been  two  hogs  kild, 
By  the  blood  &  whare  they  Draged  them  away 
through  a  feald  of  potoes,  &  ther  Sholders  tore  up  the 
potatoes  out  of  the  hills. 

From  the  three  Black  marks  on  the  other  Side 
Back  of  this  Was  the  Descorse  that  past  Between 
Wm.  Hempsted  and  myself  on  the  3d  Day  after.  I 
had  the  command  of  a  company  of  militia  of  forty  od 
men,  &  I  never  Saw  but  Seven  of  them  that  day,  as 
they  lived  upon  the  shore,  and  ther  famely  ware  ex 
posed  to  the  ravagis  of  the  Enemy. 

The  Fore  going  is  What  I  past  throug  the  6th  Day 
of  Septr.,  1781. 

JOHN    HEMPSTED. 

1  Certain. 


NARRATIVE   OF   THOMAS    HERTELL. 

NEW  YORK,  1832. 

COL.  JOHN  FELLOWS.  SIR:  In  answer  to 
your  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the 
British  troops  which  stormed  Fort  Griswold  at  Gro- 
ton  in  Connecticut  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  it 
may  be  proper  to  premise  that  being  in  New  London 
at  the  time  of  its  capture  and  conflagration  by  the 
British  forces  under  the  command  of  that  infamous 
traitor  Gen.  Benedict  Arnold  on  the  6th  of  September, 
1781,  I  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  attack  on  Fort 
Griswold  on  the  east  side  of  New  London  Harbor. 
Though  a  minute  detail  of  all  the  interesting  occur 
rences  connected  with  that  affair  may  not  be  necessary 
to  the  object  of  your  inquiry,  I  deem  it  proper  to  em 
brace  the  present  occasion  to  note  among  others  some 
matters  which  I  have  not  seen  recorded  in  any  history 
of  the  Revolution.  That  portion  of  Arnold's  forces 
which  invested  Fort  Griswold  was  variously  stated  at  a 
Thousand  to  Fifteen  Hundred  men  [the  British  said 
eight  hundred]  and  were  commanded  by  Lieut.  Col. 
Eyre.  This  incursion  early  in  the  morning  was  so 
sudden  and  unexpected  that  only  1 78  militia  [officers 
included]  were  enabled  to  reach  the  Fort  before  it  be 
came  necessary  to  close  the  gates. 

The  enemy  divided  into  two  columns  made  the  at 
tack  simultaneously  on  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the 
fort.  That  on  the  east  was  led  by  Lieut-Col.  Eyre, 
who  fell  in  the  first  assault.  That  on  the  west  was 


Narrative  of  Thomas  Hertell.  71 

commanded  by  Major  Montgomery,  who  was  killed 
near  the  close  of  the  action. 

Three  times  did  the  British  columns  advance  in 
close  order  with  trailed  arms  and  on  a  run  at  full  speed, 
with  their  officers  in  their  rear  to  oblige  them  to  keep 
their  position  and  to  goad  them  on ;  and  three  times 
did  they  quail  before  a  little  band  of  brave  but  undis 
ciplined  republican  soldiers  who  caused  death  and  de 
struction,  in  a  "  lead  and  iron  tempest,"  exultingly  to 
revel  in  blood  and  carnage  through  their  fugitive  and 
flying  ranks.  Then  the  conflict  seemed  to  be  drawing 
to  a  close.  The  fort  ceased  firing,  and  nothing  was 
seen  of  the  enemy  but  a  few  officers  riding  to  and 
fro  and  endeavoring  to  rally  scattered  fragments  of 
their  broken  columns.  The  men,  dismayed  and  dis 
heartened,  had  taken  shelter,  some  behind  rocks,  some 
in  holes,  some  behind  hillocks,  and  others  lay  flat  un 
der  cover  of  the  undulations  of  the  ground,  and  none 
appeared  standing  within  sight  and  reach  from  the  fort. 

They  had  ceased  firing.  Except  as  if  in  despair,  and 
as  if  in  despite  a  single  musket  was  occasionally  dis 
charged  from  the  lurking-place  of  a  skulking  fugitive. 
A  random  shot  from  one  of  these  accidentally  cut  the 
halyards  of  the  flag-staff,  and  the  colors  were  con 
sequently,  by  a  brisk  southwest  wind,  blown  outside 
the  fort.  This  unfortunate  occurrence  scarcely  gave 
plausibility  to  the  falsehood  immediately  proclaimed 
by  the  British  officers,  that  the  fort  had  struck,  or  in 
their  polished  and  more  common  phrase,  "  the  damned 
Yankees  had  struck  tkeir  colors'* 

Thus  deceived  and  drawn  from   their  hidinsr-places 

O  1 

a  fourth  attack  ensued;  though  more  irregular,  pro 
tracted,  and  bloody  than  either  of  the  preceding,  was 
finally  successful.  But  a  dear-bought  victory  it  was. 


•J2  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

The  loss  of  the  British  was  more  than  double  the  whole 
number  of  Americans  in  the  fort.  Considering  the 
great  disparity  of  the  conflicting  forces,  a  few  undisci 
plined  citizens  and  farmers,  many  of  whom  had  never 
before  been  in  battle,  or  had  never  seen  a  gun  fired  in 
anger,  engaged  with  more  than  four  times  their  own 
numbers  of  veteran  regular  disciplined  troops  :  a  more 
obstinate,  determined,  resolute,  and  gallant  defence  per 
haps  never  before  occurred  in  any  nation.  A  more 
protracted,  hard-fought,  and  bloody  battle  probably  was 
not  fought  during  our  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  cer 
tainly  none  which  reflected  more  honor  on  American 
bravery  or  more  dishonor  on  British  troops. 

On  entering  the  works  the  officer,  on  whom  had  de 
volved  the  command  of  the  remnant  of  the  British 
forces,  demanded,  "  Who  commands  this  fort  ?  "  The 
gallant  Col.  Ledyard  advancing,  answered,  "  Sir,  I  had 
that  honor  but  now  you  have,"  -  -  and  presented  the  hilt 
of  his  sword  to  the  victor,  who  demanded,  "  Do  you 
know  the  rules  a/war?"  "  Certainly,"  said  Col.  Led 
yard.  "  Then,"  replied  the  savage  victor,  "  You  rebel, 
prepare  for  death,"  and  immediately  with  Col.  Led- 
yard's  own  sword  run  him  through  the  body. 

A  general  massacre  by  the  British  then  ensued; 
after  which  seventy  or  more  of  the  dead  and  badly 
wounded  of  the  Americans  were  collected  and  laid 
side  by  side  on  their  backs  and  brutally  bayoneted 
again.  One  young  man,  a  nephew  of  Col.  Ledyard, 
was  discovered  secreted  in  the  gun-room  covered  with 
wounds,  but  who  saved  his  life  by  bribery.  Only  one 
man  (John  Clark  of  New  London)  was  killed  before 
the  enemy  entered  the  fort,  when  the  British  had 
lost  nearly  half  their  troops.  And  only  one  man  of  the 
Americans  (and  he  by  stratagem)  escaped  without  a 
wound. 


Narrative  of  Thomas  Her  tell.  73 

To  complete  the  work  of  cruelty  and  death,  the  re 
maining  wounded  Americans,  some  of  whom  might 
have  survived,  were  thrown  into  wagons  and  precipi 
tated  down  the  hill,  on  the  summit  of  which  the  fort 
is  situated,  toward  the  river.  Some  were  instantly 
killed,  and  others  badly  injured,  and  but  few  if  any  sur 
vived  this  act  of  wanton  cruelty ;  and  certainly  no  indi 
vidual  American  who  defended  the  fort  and  escaped 
death  was  indebted  for  his  life  to  the  magnanimity  or 
humanity  of  British  officers  or  men. 

In  concurrence  with  the  general  and  deep  indigna 
tion  excited  by  the  above-mentioned  cruelties  of  the 
enemy,  Gen1  Washington  gave  orders  to  Gen1  Wayne 
to  retaliate  on  the  British  garrison  at  Stony  Point,  dis 
obedience  of  which  order  was  overlooked  and  excused 
on  account  of  its  humanity. 

I  could  add  many  other  interesting  details  of  occur 
rences  that  took  place  on  the  memorable  occasion 
above  noted  and  which  would  honorably  contrast  the 
bravery  and  humanity  of  American  citizen  soldiers 
with  the  savage  brutality  of  the  mercenary  myrmidons 
of  the  British  King  George  III.  I  presume,  however, 
the  above  is  sufficient  for  the  object  of  your  inquiry. 
Very  Respectfully, 

THOS.    HERTELL.i 

1  This  account  of  Hertell  contains  many  statements  that  are  not  in 
agreement  with  the  other  accounts,  but  it  serves  to  show  the  town  talk 
of  the  time,  and  its  recollections  by  him  fifty-one  years  after.  The  state 
ment  that  the  colors  fell  outside  the  fort  does  not  agree  with  the  fact  that 
Luke  Perkins  mounted  them  on  a  pike-pole.  The  loss  of  the  British  is 
greatly  exaggerated,  and  helps  to  show  how  hard  a  matter  it  is  to  get  at 
the  true  facts  of  minor  incidents.  Stony  Point  retaken  July  16,  1779. 

The  account  of  the  conversation  occurring  before  the  death  of  Colonel 
Ledyard  is  entirely  new.  I  never  heard  of  it  before,  or  met  with  any  one 
who  had.  It  is  probably  such  as  Hertell  heard,  and  is  certainly  of  the 
nature  of  the  altercations  of  the  heroes  of  Troy  as  related  by  Homer. 
There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  his  belief  in  the  truth  of  the  story.  —  A. 


THE    EXPERIENCE 

OF 

JONATHAN     BROOKS, 

AT  NEW  LONDON,  ON  THE  6TH  OF  SEPTEMBER,  1781. 

MY  father,  who  belonged  to  what  was  called  the 
Independent  Company  in  the  militia,  and  was 
also  a  business  man,  rose  at  early  dawn  and  walked 
down  to  the  bank  so  called,  which  was  the  lookout 
for  the  harbor.  There  he  saw  the  enemy's  fleet  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  quickly  returned  and  took 
me  down  with  him  to  see  what  was  going  on.  The 
fleet  had  not  then  all  anchored,  but  were  dropping  in 
by  the  western  point  fast.  He  said,  "  they  are  going 
to  land  ;  go  home,  take  the  bridle  and  get  the  horse 
from  the  pasture  as  quickly  as  possible."  I  did  so, 
and  the  horse  was  soon  at  the  door,  the  pasture  being 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  off.  The  horse  was  then 
loaded  with  a  bed  and  some  clothing  and  other  valua 
ble^.  My  father  then  mounted  and  was  gone  about 
one  hour  and  a  half,  and  on  returning  said  he  had 
deposited  his  load  and  provided  quarters  for  his  family 
at  a  place  he  named,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  dis 
tant.  He  then  gave  directions  that  my  brothers  Na 
than,  seven,  and  John,  five  years  of  age,  should  drive 
the  cow  to  the  rendezvous  and  remain  there,  and  that 
my  mother  and  sister  should  repair  thither  with  all 
possible  speed. 


Experience  of  Jonathan  Brooks.  75 

He  then  armed  and  equipped  himself,  mounted  his 
horse,  taking  me  behind  him  to  bring  the  horse  back, 
telling  the  family  I  should  be  left  in  charge  of  the 
house  when  I  returned.  There  I  was  to  await  the  ar 
rival  of  the  enemy  in  case  they  succeeded  in  carrying 
the  fort  and  town,  at  the  same  time  charging  me  to 
treat  them  civilly,  and  furnish  them  with  whatever  they 
called  for  that  the  house  afforded  —  which  at  that 
time  was  well  stocked  with  good  things  ;  that  he  him 
self  should,  in  case  he  was  not  killed  or  badly  wounded, 
and  the  enemy  made  good  their  landing  and  could 
not  be  defeated  or  stopped,  retreat  back  to  his  prop 
erty,  which  was  in  buildings  and  his  all,  and  there 
make  a  stand  and  act  according  to  circumstances. 
We  rode  by  the  fort  gate  on  the  lower  road,  meaning 
to  go  to  the  lighthouse  by  White  Beach,  but  on  com 
ing  to  the  beach  it  was  found  that  the  enemy's  small 
craft  were  so  near  in,  that  we  could  see  the  soldiers 
plainly,  and  hear  them  converse.  The  ships  at  this 
time  kept  up  a  heavy  cannonade;  we  then  left  the 
shore  and  struck  for  the  heights  across  the  lots. 
Being  unacquainted  we  came  to  a  place  that  was  miry, 
and  very  difficult  for  the  horse  to  pass  through;  in 
short  he  stuck  fast,  and  we  then  dismounted  and  eot 

O 

the  horse  out  of  the  mire.  Before  we  re-mounted, 
being  but  a  little  distance  from  where  the  horse  mired, 
a  shot  passed  through  the  thicket  directly  across 
where  we  stood  to  disentangle  him,  and  cut  off  several 
saplings  of  the  size  of  a  man's  wrist.  Whether  we 
were  discovered  by  the  ships  and  fired  at,  or  whether 
it  was  a  chance  shot  I  know  not ;  at  any  rate  it  made 
us  look  around.  We  then  made  for  the  cross  road 
that  connects  the  upper  and  lower  roads.  At  the  head 
of  the  road  we  fell  in  with  about  one  hundred  citizens, 


76  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

volunteer  soldiers  armed  and  equipped.  My  father 
dismounted  and  joined  them.  The  party  then  fell 
into  conversation  about  how  they  should  manage,  hav 
ing  no  commanding  officer.  Some  who  had  no  ex 
perience  in  war  matters  were  for  fighting  at  any  odds, 
saying,  "  let  us  form  where  we  are  and  contest  the 
ground  inch  by  inch  ; "  but  Captain  Nathaniel  Salton- 
stall,  who  once  commanded  the  ship  Putnam,  said, 
"  gentlemen,  whether  I  have  as  much  courage  as  many 
who  have  given  their  opinion,  I  shall  not  undertake  to 
say  ;  but  this  I  will  say,  for  one  I  will  not  be  such  a 
fool  as  to  stand  here  open  breasted  and  be  shot  down 
by  the  very  first  volley  of  the  enemy's  fire."  The 
enemy  were  at  this  time  in  sight  marching  in  solid 
columns.  At  this  juncture  Colonel  Harris  rode  up 
with  his  sword  by  his  side.  I  can  this  instant —  in 
imagination  —  see  him.  The  band  were  all  much 
elated  at  seeing  him,  saying,  "  now,  colonel,  we  have 
somebody  to  command  us,  and  are  at  your  service." 
The  colonel  replied,  "  You  must  excuse  me,  gentle 
men,  as  I  have  a  violent  sick-headache  this  morning, 
and  can  hardly  sit  on  my  horse,"  then  turning  his 
horse  and  riding  off.  This  conduct  of  the  colonel  so 
enraged  many  of  the  people  that  they  were  almost 
like  madmen,  some  cocking  and  presenting  their  guns, 
which  were  loaded,  exclaiming,  "  let's  shoot  the  d — d 
rascal."  The  party  now  left  to  themselves,  on  the 
sober  second  thought  hapened  to  hit  upon  Captain 
Saltonstall,  to  whom  they  now  looked  to  command 
them,  and  asked  him  what  they  should  do  —  there  was 
no  time  for  parley  now.  He  said,  "  My  advice  is  to 
divide  ourselves  into  two  parties,  each  taking  the  stone 
wall  which  is  on  each  side  of  the  road  for  our  shelter ; 
each  man  take  care  of  himself,  and  get  a  shot  at  the 


Experience  of  Jonathan  Brooks.  77 

enemy  as  best  he  can."  This  course  was  taken,  and 
Benedict  Arnold  and  his  army  of  traitors  (for  they 
were  almost  all  of  them  refugees)  were  much  annoyed 
by  them.  My  father  now  told  me  to  return  home,  put 
the  horse  in  the  barn,  and  await  the  arrival  of  himself 
or  the  enemy.  I  mounted  and  rode  as  far  as  Fort 
Nonsense,  on  Town  Hill.  Seeing  quite  a  bustle  there, 
and  having  some  notion  of  seeing  the  fight,  I  hitched 
my  horse  to  the  wall,  and  mounted  to  the  top  of  a  very 
tall  sycamore  tree.  I  stayed  in  the  top  of  the  tree 
until  I  saw  the  drag-ropes  fixed  to  the  field-pieces  and 
manned  for  retreat.  I  then  took  myself  down  not  very 
slow,  and  was  off.  Directly  afterward  I  fell  in  with  a 
great  booby  of  a  boy  whom  I  knew ;  he  was  crying  ; 
he  said  his  horse  had  thrown  him,  and  he  wished  to  go 
to  his  Uncle  Harris's,  the  colonel's,  almost  opposite 
Fort  Nonsense.1  I  said  to  him,  Charles,  if  you  go  that 
way  you  may  see  trouble.  He  cried,  and  I  assisted 
him  to  re-mount,  and  my  horse  soon  cut  dirt  for  home. 
I  was  inquired  of  as  I  passed,  and  I  told  them  the 
enemy  had  landed,  and  would  be  upon  them  in  a 
twinkling.  There  was  motion  and  commotion  then  in 
good  earnest.  I  arrived  safe  home,  put  the  horse  in 
the  barn  according  to  orders,  and  then  seated  myself 
in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  side  of  the  street,  wait 
ing  with  anxiety  to  see  the  red  coats  enter  Bradley 
Street.  All  was  perfect  silence,  and  there  seemed  to 
be  a  kind  of  solemnity  reigning  in  the  place.2  The  si- 

1  The  house  occupied  at  that  time  by  Colonel  Harris  is  still  preserved, 
and  known  to  the  citizens  of  New  London  as  the   "Robinson  House," 
now  owned  by  Thomas  Fitch,  Esq. —  H. 

2  Bradley  Street,  at  that  time  containing  twelve  to  fifteen  buildings, 
consisting  mostly  of  humble  dwellings,  entirely  escaped   the  conflagra 
tion.    It  has  been  said  these  were  spared  because  it  was  called  the  "  Wid 
ows'  Row." 


78  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

lence  was  soon  broken  by  the  entrance  of  five  or  six 
shabby  looking  fellows  into  the  street  on  the  full  run 
from  the  south.  They  passed  me  without  notice,  so 
intent  were  they  probably  on  the  prospect  before  them, 
for  they  shouted  as  they  passed,  "by  G — d,  we'll  have 
fine  plunder  by-and-by."  Very  soon  I  heard  a  great 
noise,  and  I  mounted  higher  on  the  fence  and  looked 
in  the  direction  that  the  noise  proceeded  from  and 
saw  the  doors  of  a  storehouse  open,1  which  contained 
the  goods  of  the  prize  ship  Hannah,  fhe  invoice  of 
which  was  ,£80,000  sterling.  The  goods  were  flying 
out  of  the  store,  and  I  should  think  thirty  or  forty  per 
sons  were  loading  themselves  with  plunder  and  scam 
pering  off. 

I  now  heard  the  call  of  my  mother,  who  I  supposed 
had  gone  and  left  the  house.  She  inquired  where  the 
horse  was,  and  on  being  informed  told  me  to  get  it 
and  bring  it  to  the  door  as  quick  as  possible.  I  did 
so.  She  then  brought  a  large  sack,  saying,  |;  these  are 
very  valuable  papers  of  your  father's,  and  you  must 
take  them  out  to  your  Uncle  Richard's,"  2  (the  place 
provided  for  the  family  to  flee  to.)  I  remonstrated, 
saying,  "  my  father's  orders  were  not  to  leave  the 
house,  and  that  I  should  lose  the  chance  of  seeing  the 
Regulars  "  —  for  so  the  British  troops  were  then  called. 
But  she  urged  me  to  go,  saying,  "  go,  my  son,  you  can 
get  back  time  enough  to  see  them  ;  I  shall  follow  di 
rectly  after  you."  I  did  go,  but  I  had  not  proceeded 
fifty  rods  before  I  heard  the  musketry  going  crack, 


1  This  store-house  was  situated  on  "  the  beach  "  (Water  Street),  the 
second  street  below  that  in  which  Brooks  had  taken  his  stand  of  observa 
tion. 

2  Lieutenant  Richard  Chapman,  who  fell  that  day  in  the  defence  of 
Fort  Griswold. 


Experience  of  Jonathan  Brooks.  79 

crack,  on  the  whole  westerly  side  of  the  town.  I,  how 
ever,  moved  quickly  on,  and  when  I  came  to  the  head 
of  the  cove  the  street  was  so  crowded  with  the  fleeing 
women  and  children,  all  loaded  with  something,  that  I 
had  to  move  slowly.  They  inquired  where  the  enemy 
were.  I  said,  "  they  will  be  among  you  within  five 
minutes  if  you  delay."  Their  loading  was  soon  thrown 
down,  and  they  started  on  a  quick  pace.1  I  passed 
on,  turning  the  corner  toward  Post  Hill,  and  when  I 
turned  the  corner  into  the  Cohanzy  Road  the  bullets 
flew  whistling  over  my  head  at  no  small  rate ;  I  just 
went  clear  and  that  was  all,  for  the  enemy  were  in 
possession  of  Post  Hill.  I  went  with  my  bag  of  pa 
pers  to  the  place  directed,  and  went  out  and  gathered 
peaches,  for  to  return  to  town  at  this  time  was  out  of 
the  question.  In  about  one  hour  my  mother  arrived. 
She  inquired  of  me  where  Nathan  and  John  were.  It 
will  be  recollected  that  they  were  sent  with  the  cow 
in  the  morning.  I  told  her  I  had  not  seen  them. 
She  appeared  to  be  violently  agitated  and  alarmed, 
and  at  length  she  said  :  "  Get  up  the  horse  and  look 
for  them  ;  go  here,  go  there,  go  everywhere  "  -  all  in 
a  breath.  I  did  go,  and  rode  and  rode,  and  returned 
and  reported  no  tidings  of  the  boys,  and  off  again, 
until  at  length  I  was  almost  wrought  up  into  a  frenzy 
myself.  I  then  made  up  my  mind  to  cross  over  to 

1  Miss  Caulkins,  in  writing  of  the  terrible  consternation  and  alarm  of 
this  day,  relates  the  following  affecting  incident :  — 

"Amid  the  bustle  of  these  scenes,  when  each  one  was  laden  with  what 
was  nearest  at  hand  or  dearest  to  his  heart,  one  man  was  seen  hastening 
alone  to  the  burial-ground,  with  a  small  coffin  under  his  arm.  His  child 
had  died  the  day  before,  and  he  could  not  leave  it  unburied.  In  haste 
and  trepidation  he  threw  up  the  mold,  and  deposited  his  precious  burden  ; 
then  covering  it  quickly  and  setting  up  a  stone  to  mark  the  place,  he  hur 
ried  away  to  secure  other  beloved  ones  from  a  more  cruel  spoiler." 


80  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Quaker  Hill,  on  the  Norwich  road,  and  if  I  could  not 
hear  of  them  there,  to  enter  the  town  at  all  hazards, 
for  I  conceived  it  possible  that  being  unable  to  drive 
the  cow  where  directed,  for  she  was  in  her  former  pas 
ture,  that  they  were  disheartened,  and  had  returned  to 
the  house  in  town,  and  as  the  town  was  on  fire,  might, 
as  I  conceived,  be  burnt  in  the  house.  My  God,  how 
my  heart-strings  vibrated  at  this  idea !  Go  ahead  and 
save  them,  says  I.  With  much  difficulty  I  crossed 
over  the  lots  —  an  unknown  way  to  me —  to  the  Nor 
wich  road,  and  made  fruitless  inquiries. 

The  militia  from  Norwich  and  the  adjacent  country 
had  arrived,  commanded  by  a  Colonel  Rogers,  I  be 
lieve,  and  were  ordered  to  halt  on  the  hill.  I,  how 
ever,  pushed  on  for  the  town,  but  was  immediately 
stopped  by  a  sentinel,  who  inquired  where  I  was  going. 
I  replied,  "  into  New  London."  He  said,  "  you  cannot 
go,  the  enemy  are  there."  I  told  him  I  must  and 
should  go,  come  what  might.  The  soldier  seeing  my 
determination,  seized  my  bridle  and  lifted  me  off  the 
horse  and  sent  me  to  the  colonel.  The  colonel  told 
me  that  he  was  very  busy,  but  that  I  must  not  go  into 
town.  He  was  then  conversing  with  his  officers  about 
going  on  a  reconnoitering  party  to  a  projecting  point 
of  land  that  hung,  as  it  were,  over  the  town.  As  soon 
as  the  party  were  mounted  I  stepped  up  to  the  colonel 
and  said,  "  Sir,  will  you  please  to  let  me  go  with  you  ?  " 
He  replied,  "  certainly,  my  lad."  I  mounted  my  horse 
and  followed  along  in  the  rear.  When  we  came  to  the 
brink  of  the  hill  the  party  turned  to  the  left  into  a 
private  road  that  led  to  a  farm,  in  order  to  gain  the 
point  of  observation.  At  this  time  they  were  much 
engaged  in  conversation.  Now's  your  time,  says  I  to 
myself;  go  it,  Jenny  —  for  that  was  the  name  of  the 


Experience  of  Jonathan  Brooks.  81 

mare  —  and  I  put  on  the  string.  I  entered  the  north 
end  of  the  town,  passed  into  Main  Street  about  twenty 
rods,  when  the  heat  and  smoke  of  the  burning  build 
ings  was  such  that  I  could  not  urge  the  mare  on.  I, 
however,  retreated  back  about  twenty  rods,  put  on  the 
whip,  and  she  went  through.  I  had  just  cleared  the 
burning  district  at  that  point,  when  there  was  a  store, 
containing  a  large  quantity  of  gunpowder,  blew  up, 
which  filled  the  air  with  smoke  and  fragments,  which 
fell  around  me  in  every  direction.  I,  however,  jogged 
on  unharmed,  passed  into  Bradley  Street,  where  my 
father's  principal  buildings  were,  none  of  which  were 
burnt,  and  I  satisfied  myself  that  there  was  no  one  in 
the  house  we  occupied.  I  saw  a  heavy  fire  raging  on 
the  parade,  which  was  the  Court  House,  Jail,  Episcopal 
Church,  &c.  I,  of  course,  could  not  pass  that  way, 
and,  indeed,  the  smoke  was  so  dense  —  there  being 
but  little  wind  —  no  object  whatever  could  be  discov 
ered.  I  retraced  my  steps,  passed  again  into  Main 
Street,  turned  the  corner  to  the  right  into  State  Street. 
No  object  at  this  point  was  discernable  on  the  parade, 
owing  to  the  density  of  the  smoke.  I  rode  on  till 
opposite  the  printing  office  of  Timothy  Green,  Esq.,1 
where  in  the  street  flat  on  his  back  lay  a  drunken 
British  soldier,  with  his  gun  bayoneted  lying  beside 
him.  This,  I  thought,  was  a  good  prize,  so  I  slipped 
softly  off  of  the  horse  and  seized  the  gun.  His  car 
tridge-box  and  bayonet-sheath  were  slung  to  him,  and 
I  did  not  attempt  to  meddle  with  them  for  fear  of  wak 
ing  him.  I  made  several  attempts  in  various  ways  to 
mount  with  the  gun,  but  could  not  succeed,  and  so  I 
threw  it  over  the  fence  and  left  him,  thinking  I  would 
let  well  enough  alone. 

1  Upper  corner  of  State  and  Green  streets. 
6 


82  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

I  now  passed  out  of  town  to  Rockdale  Place,  where 
my  Grandfather  Chapman  lived,  and  still  no  news  of 
my  brothers. 

After  leaving  Rockdale  I  fell  in  with  Colonel  Lati- 
mer  and  a  flock  of  old  tories,  whose  names  I  could 
mention  if  so  disposed.  To  Colonel  Latimer  I  told 
the  place  and  situation  of  the  British  soldier,  which  he 
said  he  would  have  attended  to.  The  soldier  was 
found  and  detained  a  prisoner  —  not,  however,  by  the 
colonel's  means.  I  was  disapointed  in  not  finding  my 
father  at  the  house  as  he  had  appointed,  and  concluded 
that  he  was  either  killed,  wounded,  or  a  prisoner;  but 
he  was  neither.  At  the  time  I  was  in  the  house  he, 
with  a  few  more  inhabitants  that  were  in  town,  were 
engaged  in  the  smoke  on  the  parade  trying  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  the  fire,  and  stop  it  from  passing  into 
Bradley  Street,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing,  and 
saved  that  part  of  the  town. 

Thus  you  may  understand  that  I  passed  through  the 
principal  streets  of  New  London  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  6th  of  September,  1781,  and  never  saw  a  single 
living  creature,  except  one  singed  cat,  that  ran  across 
the  street  when  the  store  blew  up;  the  soldier  was  not 
living,  certainly,  for  he  was  dead  drunk.  I  was  the 
first  person  that  entered  the  town  after  the  retreat  of 
the  enemy,  and  from  circumstances  must  have  been 
directly  at  their  heels.  My  uncle,  Richard  Chapman, 
lieutenant  under  Captain  Adam  Shaply,  at  Fort  Trum- 
bull,  was  killed  in  the  massacre  at  Fort  Griswold,  on 
the  heights  opposite  New  London,  on  that  disastrous 
day. 

JONATHAN   BROOKS. 
POST  HILL,  1840. 


A    NARRATIVE 

OF  THE 

BATTLE  ON  GROTON  HEIGHTS, 

SEPTEMBER   6TH,  1781. 

BY 

AVERY  DOWNER,  M.  D. 

ASSISTANT  SURGEON   OF   THE    EIGHTH    REGIMENT   OF  CONNECTICUT   MILITIA.1 


ON  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  September,  1781,  a 
British  fleet  of  twenty-four  sail  was  discovered 
entering  the  harbor  of  New  London.  Arnold,  the 
commander,  being  a  native  of  Norwich,  and  well  ac 
quainted  with  the  river  and  harbor,  which  was  of  much 
service  to  him,  and  also  many  tories  and  traitors  of 
equal  infamy  with  himself  accompanied  him,  which  is 
evidence  that  traitors  indulge  more  revenge  than  a 
common  enemy. 

I  performed  militia  military  duty  as  rank  and  file,  by 
detachment  from  my  company  and  regiment  at  Fort 
Griswold,  a  number  of  times  during  the  summer  of 
1779.  In  1781  I  served  as  an  assistant  surgeon  of  the 

1  This  narrative  was  first  prepared  for  use  as  an  address  on  September 
6,  1849,  but  was  not  used,  the  attendance  being  so  small  on  account  of  a 
rain-storm.  —  A. 


84  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

8th  regiment  of  Connecticut  militia,  including  Fort 
Griswold  in  its  limits.  I  well  remember  the  morning 
of  the  alarm  two  guns  from  the  fort  in  a  given  time 
was  the  alarm.  This  the  enemy  well  understood,  and 
they  fired  a  third,  by  which  we  in  Preston  were  de 
ceived,  being  fourteen  miles  distant.  Doctor  Joshua 
Downer,  my  father,  and  surgeon  of  the  said  8th  regi 
ment,  said  to  me  and  others  in  the  morning  that  the 
firing  must  be  an  alarm  ;  but  it  was  doubted,  until  the 
smoke  of  New  London  appeared  like  a  cloud,  which  I 
well  remember.  My  father  immediately  started  for 
the  fort  and  ordered  me  to  follow  him. 

On  his  arrival  near  the  meeting-house  he  met  Benja 
min  Bill  and  others  who  had  escaped  from  the  enemy 
slightly  wounded.  He  dressed  their  wounds,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  the  house  of  James  Bailey,  where  he  found 
Charles  Eldridge  wounded  in  the  knee.  He  dressed 
him  and  proceeded,  by  orders  from  the  field  officers  of 
his  regiment,  to  the  house  of  Ebenezer  Avery.  The 
surviving  British  commander,  Bloomfield,  had  ordered 
all  the  wounded  to  be  collected  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  near  the  house.  All  that  were  able  to  go  to  New 
York  were  sent  down  to  the  shipping ;  the  remainder 
were  paroled  and  left. 

Soon  after  the  enemy  were  gone  my  father  and 
Doctor  Prentiss  went  into  the  house  and  took  charge 
of  forty  wounded  men.  I  got  to  their  assistance  at 
about  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  Captain  Youngs  Led- 
yard  and  one  more  died  before  morning.  By  daylight 
all  were  taken  care  of,  and  we  with  others  went  into 
the  fort.  When  we  came  to  Colonel  Ledyard,  the 
friend  and  neighbor  of  Doctor  Prentiss,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Oh  my  God,  I  cannot  endure  this  !  " 

Our  dead   were   by  the  enemy  mostly  left  on  the 


Narrative  of  A  very  Downer.  85 

parade  in  front  of  the  barracks ;  their  dead  they  buried 
in  the  ditch,  of  a  triangular  work,  made  to  cover  the 
gate.  Major  Montgomery  they  buried  on  the  right 
of  the  gate  as  we  pass  out,  which  I  well  remember.1 
According  to  Arnold's  dispatches  to  His  Excellency 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  dated  Plum  Island,  September  8th, 
1781,  it  appears  that  the  forces  which  he  sent  on  the 
Groton  side  of  the  river  consisted  of  the  4Oth  and  54th 
British  regiments,  and  the  3d  battalion  of  New  Jersey 
volunteers,  with  a  detachment  of  Yaggers  and  artillery, 
all  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre. 

Arnold  landed  his  division  on  the  New  London  side 
of  the  river,  and  was  informed  by  friends  that  Fort 
Griswold  contained  only  about  twenty  or  thirty  men. 
In  this  his  good  friends  deceived  him,  for  in  his  dis 
patches  he  says  that  the  defence  was  so  obstinate  that 
he  sent  an  officer  to  countermand  his  order  for  assault 
just  as  the  fort  was  carried.  Fort  Trumbull  on  the 
New  London  side  of  the  river  was  little  more  than  a 

1  The  Hon.  J.  P.  C.  Mather  relates  that  some  years  since,  during  his 
official  residence  in  Hartford  —  Colonel  Samuel  Green,  son  and  successor 
of  Timothy  Green,  publisher  of  Connecticut  Gazette  in  1781,  related  to 
him  that  some  years  after  the  battle  an  Irish  gentleman  came  to  New 
London  selling  a  patent,  or  appliance  connected  with  printing.  After  dis 
posing  of  that  business,  at  his  request,  Colonel  Green  took  him  to  the 
scene  of  the  battle  on  Groton  Heights,  where  he  sought  out  a  survivor  of 
the  fight,  from  whom  he  learned  of  the  exact  place  of  Major  Montgomery's 
burial;  and  explained  that  he  came  from  the  same  town  as  the  Major, 
whose  sisters,  still  living,  had  charged  him,  if  his  travels  in  America 
brought  him  near  the  place  of  their  brother's  death,  to  find  his  grave  and 
if  possible  procure  his  skull  and  bring  it  home  to  be  buried  within  the 
family  circle  in  the  old  church-yard. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  Colonel  and  the  survivor  he  obtained  the 
sought-for  relic  and  departed  well  pleased  with  the  result  of  his  visit.  After 
the  above  was  written,  in  an  interview  with  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  sur 
vivors,  she  volunteered  the  same  information  as  occurring  within  her  own 
knowledge.  Though  not  quite  so  full,  as  to  the  interested  parties,  her 
facts  agreed  with  the  above.  —  A. 


86  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

water  battery  open  from  behind,  and  the  enemy  com 
ing  in  that  direction  the  men  spiked  their  guns  and 
crossed  the  river  and  went  into  Fort  Griswold. 

On  the  approach  of  the  British  the  commander  sent 
a  Captain  Beckwith,  a  Jersey  refugee,  to  demand  a 
surrender  of  the  fort.  Colonel  Ledyard  ordered  a  shot 
fired  in  front,  which  stopped  the  flag.  He  then  sent 
Captain  Amos  Stanton  and  Captain  Shapley  with  his 
flag ;  the  demand  of  Beckwith  was  refused  and  the 
flags  returned. 

Eyre  and  Montgomery  then  advanced  their  col 
umns,  and  the  attack  commenced  on  three  sides  of  the 
fort  at  the  same  time. 

In  about  forty  minutes  the  assailants  entered  the 
fort.  According  to  Arnold's  dispatches,  before  referred 
to,  as  published  in  Green's  paper  of  New  London, 
(Connecticut  Gazette^}  it  appears  that  his  loss  was  — 

KILLED.  WOUNDED. 

i   Major,  i  Lieutenant-Colonel, 

1  Captain  3  Captains, 

2  Sergeants,                 2  Lieutenants, 
44  Rank  and  File.        2  Ensigns, 
Since  died  of  wounds,  3  Sergeants, 

i   Captain,  2.  Drummers, 

i    Lieutenant,  127  Rank  and  File, 

i    Ensign. 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds,  51.  Total  wounded, 
deducting  three  since  died  of  wounds,  137. 

The  American  loss  was,  killed,  84  ;  wounded,  40. 

Stephen  Hempstead,  one  of  the  wounded  survivors 
of  the  action,  went  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  near  St. 
Louis,  in  1811.  He  published  there  a  narrative  of  the 
battle  on  Groton  Heights  —  correct  in  some  things 


Narrative  of  Avery  Downer.  87 

and  very  incorrect  in  others  —  and  particularly  so  in 
the  case  of  Colonel  Nathan  Gallup.  In  his  narrative 
he  says:  "  But  a  militia  colonel  was  in  the  fort,  and 
promised  Colonel  Ledyard  that  if  he  would  hold  out 
he  would  reinforce  him  in  fifteen  minutes  with  two  or 
three  hundred  men.  Colonel  Ledyard  agreed  to  send 
back  a  defiance  upon  the  most  solemn  assurance  of 
immediate  succour.  For  this  purpose  Colonel  - 
started,  his  men  being  then  in  sight ;  but  he  was  no 
more  seen,  nor  did  he  even  attempt  a  diversion  in 
our  favor."  Almost  every  person  knew  that  Colonel 
Nathan  Gallup  was  meant.  He  was  at  that  time 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  8th  regiment  of  Connecticut 
Militia. 

The  true  facts  in  the  case  are  these  :  Colonel  Ben- 
adam  Gallup  was  in  the  fort  previous  to  the  action. 
Colonel  Ledyard  requested  him  to  go  back  as  far  as 
Captain  Belton's  and  urge  on  the  men,  but  before  he 
had  time  to  return  the  enemy  were  so  near  that  he 
could  not  re-enter  the  fort.1 

In  1782  Colonel  McClellen,  of  Woodstock,  was  com 
mander  of  New  London  harbor.  At  that  time  a  court- 
martial  was  held  for  the  trial  of  officers.  Colonel  Na 
than  Gallup  came  before  said  court  as  a  prisoner, 
under  six  specific  charges,  from  the  whole  of  which  he 
was  acquitted  with  honor  and  his  certificate  of  acquit 
tal  signed  by  all  the  officers  of  the  court,  viz.  the  fol 
lowing  : 

1  Colonel  Benadam  Gallup,  an  older  brother  of  Colonel  Nathan  Gallup, 
was  an  old  man,  of  prominence  in  the  town,  but  had  no  military  office  at 
the  time,  his  title  being  acquired  in  the  time  of  the  French  War. 

Colonel  Nathan  was  court-martialed  and  acquitted,  but  Benadam,  not 
being  of  the  military,  had  no  tribunal  but  that  of  popular  opinion,  which 
unfortunately  for  him  was  in  need  of  a  victim,  and  by  some  mischance  he 
became  the  target  for  abuse,  as  responsible  for  the  lack  of  a  diversion  in 
favor  of  the  garrison,  as  any  old  resident  of  Groton  will  remember. 


88  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Roger  Newberry,  of  Hartford  County,  President. 

Hezekiah  Bissel,  of  Windham,  Judge  Advocate. 

Joshua  Downer,  Surgeon. 

Avery  Downer,  Assistant  Surgeon. 
Medical  staff  of  said  8th  regiment  of  Connecticut  Mil 
itia. 

When  I  look  over  the  names  inscribed  on  the  tab 
lets  of  the  monument  erected  as  a  memorial  of  their 
heroism,  language  fails  me  to  express  my  feelings. 
With  many  of  them  I  was  well  acquainted,  particu 
larly  with  Captain  Amos  Staunton  and  his  lieutenant, 
Henry  Williams,  both  natives  of  Groton,  and  at  that 
time  home  on  furloughs  from  the  army. 

They  went  into  the  conflict  as  volunteers,  left  their 
wives  and  children  and  everything  near  and  dear  to 
them,  in  defending  the  rights  of  their  country.  Can 
we  and  shall  we,  their  descendants,  pass  over  the 
memory  of  such  patriotic  men,  and  their  invincible 
courage  and  fortitude  be  forgotten  ?  No ;  let  their 
heroism  and  valor  be  engraved  on  the  tablets  of  our 
hearts  and  all  that  may  follow  us,  and  endure  as  long 
as  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  light  the  day  and  the 
night. 

This  narrative  is  this  day  finished  with  my  own 
hand.  I  am  88  years  and  5  months  old. 

AVERY  DOWNER. 
PRESTON,  April  I7th,  1851. 


A    NARRATIVE 


OF    THE 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  GRISWOLD, 

AND  INCIDENTS   CONNECTED   THEREWITH,   AS    RELATED    BY 

MAYOR  GEORGE  MIDDLETON,  OF  NEWARK,  N.  Y., 

AN  EYE-WITNESS  OF  THE  SCENE. 

I  AM  perhaps  the  only  person  living  who  witnessed 
the  capture  of  Fort  Griswold  by  the  British  on 
the  6th  day  of  September,  1781,  and  although  now  in 
my  eighty-sixth  year,  my  recollection  of  the  scene  and 
its  incidents  is  as  vivid  as  if  the  event  transpired  but 
yesterday. 

At  that  time  I  was  only  twelve  years  old,  but  the 
reader,  methinks,  will  not  wonder  if  the  scenes  of  my 
boyhood  days  come  thronging  back  upon  the  memory 
of  an  aged  man  with  much  of  the  distinctness  of  a 
present  reality  when  those  scenes  were  impressed  upon 
the  mind  amid  the  booming  of  cannon  and  the  agoniz 
ing  shrieks  of  those  who  stood  on  an  eminence  from 
the  scene  of  conflict,  and  saw  their  husbands,  sons,  and 
lovers  falling,  one  by  one,  before  the  wasting  fire  of 
the  enemy. 

I  resided  with  my  father  in  the  town  of  Groton, 
about  two  miles  east  of  New  London. 

The  reader  is  aware  that  New  London  was,  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution,  a  place  of  considerable  note, 
and  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  Thames ; 


go  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

on  the  east  side  of  the  river  was  what  was  then  called 
Groton  Bank,  and  was  then  quite  a  village.  Farther 
east  of  this  was  Fort  Griswold.  This  fort  was  situated 
on  a  high  hill,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  trench  or  ditch 
about  five  feet  deep  and  some  six  or  eight  feet  in 
width.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  September, 
1781,  I  was  awoke  by  the  firing  of  cannon,  and  upon 
ascending  a  height  a  short  distance  from  my  father's 
residence,  which  overlooked  New  London,  the  harbor's 
mouth,  and  from  which  I  could  gain  a  fair  view  of  the 
fort  and  the  distance  between  that  and  the  harbor. 
From  this  point  I  descried  the  British  fleet  off  the 
mouth  of  New  London  harbor  in  the  act  of  landing 
their  troops  on  the  east  and  west  side  of  the  harbor. 
Soon  after  ascending  the  hill,  the  women  and  children 
began  to  congregate  there,  wringing  their  hands,  and 
crying,  "  Oh,  my  son  !  "  children  crying,  "  Oh,  my 
father  !"  and  "  Oh,  my  brother  !  " 

These  troops  were  commanded  by  General  Arnold, 
the  traitor,  who  landed  with  a  portion  of  the  troops  on 
the  west,  or  New  London  side  of  the  river,  near  by 
the  light-house,  about  two  miles  below  New  London, 
and  marched  up  and  took  Fort  Trumbull,  which  stood 
on  a  peninsula  of  land  about  one  quarter  of  a  mile 
south  of  New  London,  and  from  there  marched  his 
troops  into  New  London  and  set  it  on  fire,  by  which 
it  was  almost  wholly  reduced  to  ashes.  The  other  di 
vision  of  troops  landed  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  at 
a  place  called  Groton  Point,  and  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Eyre  and  Major  Montgomery.  This  division 
on  landing  was  again  divided,  one  portion  marching 
directly  towards  Fort  Griswold  and  the  other  portion 
marching  further  east,  and  keeping  under  cover  of 
thick  woods  until  they  got  to  the  terminus  of  the 


Narrative  of  George  Middleton.  9 1 

woods  at  a  great  gate  opening  through  a  thick  stone 
wall,  and  being  a  little  south  of  east  on  a  direct  line 
from  the  fort.  Here  the  division  halted,  and  Major 
Montgomery  sent  Captain  Beckwith  with  a  flag  to  the 
fort  to  demand  its  surrender.  Colonel  Ledyard,  the 
commander  of  the  fort,  sent  a  flag  and  met  Beckwith, 
who  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fort.  The  bearer 
of  the  American  flag  answered,  "  Colonel  Ledyard 
will  maintain  the  fort  to  the  last  extremity."  Captain 
Beckwith  then  waved  his  flag,  at  which  signal  the 
British  troops  immediately  took  up  their  march  in 
solid  column  through  the  gate.  While  they  were 
passing  through  the  gate  the  cannon  from  the  fort 
was  opened  upon  them,  which  caused  them  to  wheel 
to  the  right  and  march  under  cover  of  a  hill  by  the 
side  of  a  cedar  swamp,  until  they  got  abreast  of  the 
fort ;  then  they  broke  their  columns  and  ran  with 
trailed  arms  to  the  fort,  during  which  time  they  fired 
with  small  arms  from  the  fort. 

The  enemy  attacked  the  fort  on  three  sides  at  once, 
and  getting  into  the  ditch  and  climbing  up  on  the 
opposite  side  they  cut  away  the  pickets,  and  with  their 
scaling  ladders  entered  the  fort  and  tore  away  the  gate 
from  the  inside.  But  in  the  mean  time,  while  the 
enemy  were  in  the  ditch,  those  in  the  garrison  fought 
by  throwing  hot  shot  upon  them ;  but  when  they  had 
got  into  the  embrazures,  those  defending  the  fort 
changed  their  weapons  and  fought  desperately  with 
spears  or  pikes  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  in  length,  with 
which  they  did  good  execution.  On  passing  through 
one  of  these  embrazures  Major  Montgomery  was  killed 
by  spears  in  the  hands  of  Captain  Shapley  and  a  black 
man  named  Jordan  Freeman,1  both  stabbing  him  at 

1  Freeman  was  himself  afterwards  killed  by  a  bayonet  thrust.  —  ED.  P. 


92  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

the  same  time.     His  last  words  were,  "  Put  every  man 
to  death." 

After  Major  Montgomery  was  killed,  Captain  Bloom- 
field  took  the  command  and  inquired  who  commanded 
the  fort.  Colonel  Ledyard,  finding  resistance  longer 
useless,  presented  his  sword  to  Captain  Bloomfield, 
and  said,  "  I  did,  sir,  but  you  do  now,"  at  the  same 
time  handing  the  hilt  of  his  sword  to  Captain  Bloom- 
field,  who  took  it  and  plunged  it  into  the  bosom  of 
Colonel  Ledyard,  and  he  fell  on  his  face  and  expired. 

After  butchering  with  their  bayonets  some  time, 
one  of  the  British  officers  said,  "  My  soul  cannot  bear 
such  destruction,"  and  ordered  the  drums  to  beat-  a 
parley. 

They  then  took  the  American  dead  and  laid  them 
out  upon  the  parade  ground,  and  buried  their  own 
dead  just  outside  of  the  fort,  in  a  heap  promiscuously, 
and  covered  them  up  slightly,  with  the  exception  of 
Major  Montgomery,  and  for  him  they  dug  a  grave 
within  the  parapets  of  the  fort,  in  front  of  the  gates, 
and  buried  him  decently. 

They  then  took  the  wounded  Americans,  loaded 
them  into  a  wagon,  and  undertook  to  take  them  down 
the  hill,  but  not  being  able  to  hold  the  wagon,  they 
let  it  run,  and  with  great  violence  it  came  in  contact 
with  an  apple-tree,  and  the  stop  was  so  sudden  as  to 
throw  many  of  the  poor  bleeding  fellows  out,  and 
some  were  killed  by  the  shock.  One  poor  fellow  who 
was  thrown  out,  in  attempting  to  crawl  away,  was 
knocked  in  the  head  by  the  breech  of  a  gun. 

The  British  on  leaving  laid  a  train  of  powder  to 
communicate  with  the  magazine,  and  set  a  slow-match 
on  fire  to  ignite  the  train  for  the  purpose  of  blowing 
up  the  fort.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  had  left,  an  Amer- 


Narrative  of  George  Middleton.  93 

ican '  entered  the  fort  and  put  out  the  match  and  saved 
the  powder  and  the  fort. 

Although  then  but  a  boy,  I  knew  personally  Colo 
nel  William  Ledyard,  Captain  William  Latham,  Lieu 
tenant  Nathan  Moore,  David  Avery,  Solomon  Avery, 
Daniel  Avery,  Thomas  Avery,  Hubbard  Burrows,  Da 
vid  Palmer,  Sylvester  Walworth,  Patrick  Ward,  Mr. 
Scoville,2  and  Mr.  Davis,  all  of  whom  were  killed  in 
the  taking  of  the  fort ;  and  of  the  wounded  with  whom 
I  was  personally  acquainted  were  Park  Avery,  John 
Morgan,  Mr.  Woodmensee,  Samuel  Edgecomb,  and 
Joshua  Baker. 

There  was  in  the  fort  at  the  time  the  enemy  made 
the  attack  only  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  per 
sons,  and  these  hastily  collected  from  the  community 
around,  while  the  enemy  were  about  eight  hundred 
strong. 

The  people  of  Groton  have  erected  a  monument  in 
commemoration  of  this  event,  in  which  is  inscribed 
the  names  of  all  persons  killed  during  this  engage 
ment  ;  also  the  following  words  :  "  Zebulon  and  Naph- 
•  tali  were  a  people  that  jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the 
death  in  the  high  places  of  the  field."  Judges  v.  18. 

1  Major  Peters,  of  Norwich.  —  Caitlkins 

2  This  is  probably  Phillip  Covil. 


FROM 

RIVINGTON'S     ROYAL     GAZETTE,1 

(NEW  YORK.) 

ON  Thursday  morning,  the  6th  inst,  the  fleet  ar 
rived  off  New  London  harbor,  where  a  part  of 
the  brave  though  little  army  were  sent  to  Groton,  op 
posite  New  London,  under  command  of  Colonel  Ayre, 
of  the  4oth  regiment,  to  take  possession  of  Fort  Cres- 
sel,  which  commanded  not  only  the  entrance  of  New 
London  harbor,  but  the  mouth  of  the  river  Thames 
leading  to  Norwich.  On  the  appearance  of  the  fleet 
five  or  six  privateers  lying  in  New  London  harbor 
availed  themselves  of  their  oars  and  went  up  said 
river ;  but  before  the  rebels  had  an  opportunity  of 
getting  their  valuable  vessels  out,  General  Arnold 
made  it  necessary  for  them  to  look  out  for  their  per 
sonal  safety.  In  the  mean  time  Colonel  Ayre,  with  the 
detachment  under  his  command,  landed  within  three 
miles  of  Fort  Cressel,  and  marched  up  with  the  spirit 
peculiar  to  the  British  nation  ;  and  though  the  coun 
try  was  so  very  rocky  as  to  render  it  impossible  for 
their  artillery  and  howitzers  to  be  brought  to  co-oper- 

1  The  above  was  copied  in  Connecticut  Gazette,  Friday,  September 
21,  1781,  with  this  prelude  :  —  A. 

"The  following  is  inserted  with  a  view  of  convincing  our  Readers 
what  infamous  Falsehoods  our  Enemies  are  capable  of  publishing  to  the 
world."— 


From  Rivingtoris  Royal  Gazette.  95 

ate  with  them,  their  thirst  for  glory  was  such  that  as 
soon  as  they  came  to  the  skirt  of  a  wood  within  about 
a  mile  of  the  fort,1  they  sent  an  officer  with  a  flag  de 
manding  an  immediate  surrender,  with  a  threat  that 
if  the  demand  was  not  complied  with,  it  would  be 
stormed  five  minutes  after  the  return  of  the  flag. 

The  officer  who  carried  it  advanced  to  a  little  emi 
nence  before  the  fort,  and  was  met  by  an  officer  from 
it,  who  requested  to  know  his  errand,  his  rank,  &c. ; 
but  being  told  that  his  business  was  with  the  com 
manding  officer  of  the  fort,  he  returned.  After  a  con 
siderable  time  on  that  spot  the  GREAT  COM 
MANDER  appeared,  accompanied  by  another  officer; 
the  former  having  asked  the  gentleman  who  demanded 

O  O 

the  surrender  his  rank,  and  being  satisfied  that  he  was 
a  captain  in  the  British  service,  desired  him  to  talk 
with  and  make  his  demand  known  to  the  captain  who 
accompanied  him,  that  he  was  of  equal  rank,  and  that 
for  his  "  own  part  he  was  Colonel  Ledyard,  command 
ing  officer  of  the  fort." 

The  doughty  rebel  captain,  being  informed  of  the 
demand,  told  the  officer  that  Colonel  Ledyard  had  de 
termined,  as  the  fort  was  well  garrisoned,  and  in  every 
respect  in  a  proper  state  of  defence,  he  was  under  no 
apprehension  of  bad  consequences,  and  would  defend 
the  fort  to  the  last  extremity. 

The  detention  of  the  flag  had  tired  the  patience  of 
not  only  Colonel  Ayre,  but  of  every  officer  and  pri- 

1  The  British  headquarters  that  day  were  at  the  "  Old  Avery  House" 
—  now  demolished  —  situated  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  southeast  of 
the  fort,  on  the  road  running  through  the  woods  from  Groton  to  Poquo- 
noc.  Here  the  soldiers  gratified  their  love  of  mischief  by  wantonly  de 
stroying  the  summer's  dairy,  breaking  the  furniture,  throwing  the  old 
clock  out  through  the  window,  and  badly  frightening,  by  threats  of  abduc 
tion,  a  young  mother  left  with  her  infant  alone  in  the  house. —  H. 


g6  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

vate  centinel  under  his  command,  and  on  its  return 
the  order  was  given  for  an  immediate  storm,  which 
was  immediately  put.  in  execution.  When  the  troops 
entered,  there  was  before  the  fort  (which  was  regularly 
built  with  stone,  mounting  on  the  upper  battery  three, 
and  on  the  lower  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  with  bas 
tions  at  each  corner,  with  guns  to  reach  each  curtain 
line,)  a  chevaux-de-frize,  and  a  ditch  of  seven  feet  in 
depth  on  each  square,  with  stockades  on  the  sides 
next  the  fort.  When  the  troops  got  into  the  ditch 
the  rebels  struck  the  flag  and  ceased  firing,1  until  they 
pulled  out  some  of  the  stakes  and  mounted  on  the 
range,  when  the  rebels  began  to  play  their  guns  from 
the  bastions,  and  attempted  to  defend  their  ramparts, 
but  the  valor  of  our  troops  prevailed,  and  the  rebels 
fled  into  the  casemates  of  the  fortress,  and  some  of 
them  fired  through  the  loop-holes  ;  but  the  doors  being 
burst  open  they  were  compelled  to  beg  mercy,  which 
being  the  darling  attribute  of  Britons  even  to  a  fault, 
they  spared  the  catiffs.  It  is  said  the  number  of  men 
in  Fort  Cressel  was  250;  forty  of  them  being  wounded 
were  admitted  to  their  parole,  about  70  were  sent  pris 
oners  on  board  the  fleet,  and  the  residue  reaped  the 
BLESSED  fruits  of  their  obstinacy.2  In  the  town  of 
Groton  the  wounded,  with  the  women  and  children, 
were  put  in  two  houses  used  as  hospitals,  and  the 

1  This  incident   is   referred  to  in  no  other  account,  and  is,  without 
doubt,  untrue.     Had  such  been  the  fact  Arnold  would  not  have  allowed 
to  pass  unnoticed  a  circumstance  in  which   there  would  have  been  so 
much  palliation  for  the  massacre  which  followed.  —  H. 

2  This   malignant  report  was,   without   doubt,   furnished    by  Captain 
Beckwith,  who  was  the  officer  sent  to  demand  the  surrender.     He  ac 
companied  Lord  Dalrymple  as  bearer  of  dispatches  from   Arnold  to   Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  and  arrived  in  New  York  some  time  before  the  remainder 
of  the  expedition,  or  any  person  who  could  have  given  so  detailed  an  ac 
count  in  time  to  publish  so  soon  after  the  battle. —  H. 


From  Rivingtoris  Royal  Gazette.  97 

town,  together  with  two  magazines,  intirely  demolished. 
At  New  London  the  magazines,  the  town,  and  all  the 
shipping  in  the  harbour,  were  instantly  reduced  to 
ashes,  but  the  number  of  killed,  wounded,  and  prison 
ers  taken,  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  learn. 

The  breast  of  every  honest  loyalist  can  not  help 
emotions  of  joy  on  finding  that  the  most  detestable 
nest  of  pirates  on  the  continent  have  at  last  (the  meas 
ure  of  their  iniquity  being  full)  attracted  the  notice  of 
his  Excellency  the  commander-in-chief.  The  quantity 
of  European  and  West  India  goods  in  New  London 
were  immense.  All  their  store-houses  being  full,  sev 
eral  cargoes  were  deposited  in  barns.  It  was,  in  fact, 
the  magazine  of  America,  and  the  blow  now  given  will 
affect  the  sensitive  nerves  of  every  staunch  rebel  on 
the  continent.  Before  the  troops  left  the  forts  at  New 
London,  and  Fort  Cressel  at  Groton,  they  beat  off  the 
trunions  of  the  cannon  and  spiked  them  up.1 

1  Comments  in  Connecticut  Gazette  on  above  article  :  —  A. 

"  But  a  very  small  part  of  the  above  relation  is  true.  Arnold  was  sent 
to  destroy  the  Stores  of  Privateers  and  the  Forts,  but  he  did  not  accom 
plish  either  of  them.  The  Forts  remain  undemolished  even  the  Barracks 
and  Magazines  are  safe.  The  Privateers  took  their  Stores  on  board  and 
went  up  the  River  in  safety  ;  and  twelve  sail  of  other  vessels,  loaded  with 
the  most  valuable  goods  out  of  the  Stores  and  went  up  the  River  It  is 
true  that  the  Enemy  burnt  about  56  Stores,  nearly  empty,  60  Dwelling 
Houses  and  20  Barns,  as  also  the  Court  House,  Jail,  and  Church,  and  to 
the  eternal  infamy  of  the  British  Troops  they  murdered  70  of  our  worthy 
Citizens  in  Fort  Griswold  after  they  had  surrendered  themselves  Prison 
ers  and  asked  for  Quarter."  — 
7 


BRIGADIER-GENERAL  ARNOLD'S  REPORT 

TO 

SIR   HENRY   CLINTON. 

PLUM  ISLAND,  Sept.  8th,  1781. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency 
that  the  transports  with  the  detachment  of  troops 
under  my  orders,  anchored  on  the  Long  Island  shore 
on  the  5th  inst,  at  2  P.  M.,  about  ten  leagues  from 
New  London,  and  having  made  some  necessary  ar 
rangements,  weighed  anchor  at  7  P.  M.,  and  stood  for 
New  London  with  a  fair  wind.  At  one  o'clk  the  next 
morning  we  arrived  off  the  harbor,  when  the  wind 
suddenly  shifted  to  the  northward,  and  it  was  9  o'clk 
before  the  transports  could  beat  in. 

At  10  o'clk  the  troops,  in  two  divisions  and  in  four 
debarkations,  were  landed,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
harbor,  about  three  miles  from  New  London,  that  on 
the  Groton  side  consisting  of  the  4oth  and  54th  regi 
ments,  and  the  3d  battalion  ot  the  New  Jersey  Vol 
unteers,  with  a  detachment  of  Yaggers  and  artillery, 
were  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre. 

The  division  on  the  New  London  side  consisted  of 
the  38th  regiment,1  the  Loyal  Americans,2  the  Ameri- 
can  Legion  Refugees,  and  a  detachment  of  60  Yag- 

1  This  was  Sir  Robert  Pigot's  regiment,  but  it  is   not  known  whether 
he  was  with  the  expedition.     The  uniform  was  red  faced  with   vellow. — 
Caulkins. 

2  Colonel  Beverly  Robinson's  regiment. 


Brigadier-General  Arnold's  Report.  99 

gers,1  who  were  immediately,  on  their  landing,  put  in 
motion,  and  at  1 1  o'clock,  being  within  half  a  mile  of 
Fort  Trumbull,  which  commands  New  London  har 
bor,  I  detached  Captain  Millet  with  four  companies  of 
the  38th  regiment  to  attack  the  fort,  who  was  joined 
on  his  march  by  Captain  Frink  with  one  company  of 
the  American  Legion.  At  the  same  time  I  advanced 
with  the  remainder  of  the  division  west  of  Fort  Trum 
bull,  on  the  road  to  the  town  to  attack  a  redoubt  which 
had  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  on  us  for  some  time,  but  which 
the  enemy  evacuated  on  our  approach.  In  this  work 
we  found  6  pieces  of  cannon  mounted,  and  2  dis 
mounted.  Soon  after  I  had  the  pleasure  to  see  Cap 
tain  Millet  march  into  Fort  Trumbull  under  a  shower 
of  grape-shot  from  a  number  of  cannon  which  the 
enemy  had  turned  upon  him  ;  and  I  have  the  pleasure 
to  inform  your  Excellency  that  by  the  sudden  attack 
and  determined  bravery  of  the  troops  the  fort  was  car 
ried  with  the  loss  of  4  or  5  men  killed  and  wounded. 
Captain  Millet  had  orders  to  leave  one  company  in 
Fort  Trumbull,  to  detach  one  to  the  redoubt  we  had 
taken,  and  to  join  me  with  the  other  two  companies. 

No  time  on  my  part  was  lost  in  gaining  the  town 
of  New  London.  We  were  opposed  by  a  small  body 
of  the  enemy  with  one  field-piece,  who  were  so  hard 
pressed  that  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the  piece, 
which  being  iron  was  spiked  and  left.2 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  was  alarmed  in  the  morning 


1  Hessian   Light   Infantry.      They  wore  a  dark   green   uniform  with 
bright  red  trimmings.  —  Caulkins. 

2  This  gun  was  a  six-pounder,  situated  on  Manwaring's  Hill,  and  was 
used  for  the  purpose  of  firing  salutes  ;  but  on  this  occasion  three  or  four 
resolute  persons  discharged  it  upon  the  enemy  as  they  came  down  Town 
Hill,  and  then  fled.  —  Caulkins. 


ioo  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

we  could  perceive  that  they  were  very  busily  employed 
in  bending  sails,  and  endeavouring  to  get  their  pri 
vateers  and  other  ships  into  Norwich  River  out  of  our 
reach  ;  but  the  wind  being  small  and  the  tide  against 
them  they  were  obliged  to  anchor  again.  From  infor 
mation  I  received  before  and  after  landing  I  had  rea 
son  to  believe  that  Fort  Griswold,  on  Groton  side, 
was  very  incomplete  ;  and  I  was  assured,  (by  friends 
to  government,1)  after  my  landing,  that  there  were  only 
20  or  30  men  in  the  fort,  the  inhabitants  in  general 
being  on  board  their  ships,  and  busy  in  saving  their 
property.  On  taking  possession  of  Fort  Trumbull  I 
found  the  enemy's  ships  would  escape  unless  we  could 
possess  ourselves  of  Fort  Griswold  ;  I  therefore  dis 
patched  an  officer  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre  with  the 
intelligence  I  had  received,  and  requested  him  to  make 
an  attack  upon  the  fort  as  soon  as  possible,  at  which 
time  I  expected  the  howitzer  was  up,  and  would  have 
been  made  use  of.  On  my  gaining  a  height  of  ground 
in  the  rear  of  New  London,  from  which  I  had  a  good 
prospect  of  Fort  Griswold,2  I  found  it  much  more  for 
midable  than  I  expected,  or  than  I  had  formed  an  idea 
of,  from  the  information  I  had  before  received.  I  ob 
served  at  the  same  time  that  the  men  who  had  escaped 
from  Fort  Trumbull  had  crossed  the  river  in  boats 

1  Arnold  dined  that  day  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  James  Tilley,  on 
Bank  Street  ;  but  the  hospitality  of  the  latter  did  not  prevent  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  buildings.     Before  they  arose  from  the  table  the  roof  over 
their  heads  was  in  flames,  though,  we  must  suppose,  from  accidental  igni 
tion  or  misapprehension  of  orders,  as  Tilley  is  said  to  have  been  well 
known  as  a  "  friend  to  government." — -H.     Jeremiah  Miller  is  said  by 
others  to  have  been  the  host  on  this  occasion.     Both  he  and  Tilley  had 
their  houses  on  the  Bank  burned.  — A. 

2  The  old  burial-ground.     It  is  said  by  old  citizens  that  Arnold's  point 
of  observation  was  the  Winthrop  tomb,  whence  he  directed  the  move 
ments  of  his  soldiers  in  the  destruction  of  the  town.  —  H. 


Brigadier-General  Arnold's  Report.  101 

and  had  thrown  themselves  into  Fort  Griswold ;  and 
a  favorable  wind  springing  up  about  this  time,  the 
enemy's  ships  were  escaping  up  the  river,  notwith 
standing  the  fire  from  Fort  Trumbull  and  a  6-pounder 
which  I  had  with  me.  I  immediately  dispatched  a 
boat  with  an  officer  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre  to 
countermand  my  first  order  to  attack  the  fort,  but  the 
officer  arrived  a  few  minutes  too  late.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Eyre  had  sent  Captain  Beckwith  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  fort,  which  was  peremptorily  re 
fused,  and  the  attack  had  commenced.  After  a  most 
obstinate  defence  of  near  forty  minutes  the  fort  was 
carried  by  the  superior  bravery  and  perseverance  of 
the  battalions.  The  attack  was  judicious  and  spirited, 
and  reflects  the  highest  honor  on  the  officers  and 
troops  engaged,  who  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in 
being  first  in  danger. 

o  o 

The  troops  approached  on  three  sides  of  the  work, 
which  was  a  square  with  flanks,  made  a  lodgement  in 
the  ditch,  and  under  a  heavy  fire  which  they  kept  up 
on  the  works  effected  a  second  lodgement  upon  the 
fraizing,  which  was  attended  with  great  difficulty,  as 
only  a  few  pickets  could  be  forced  out  or  broken  in  a 
place,  and  was  so  high  that  the  soldiers  could  not 
ascend  without  assisting  each  other.  Here  the  cool 
ness  and  bravery  of  the  troops  was  very  conspicuous, 
as  the  first  who  ascended  the  fraize  were  obliged  to 
silence  a  nine-pounder,  which  infiladed  the  place  upon 
which  they  stood  until  a  sufficient  body  had  collected 
to  enter  the  works,  which  was  done  with  fixed  bayonets 
through  the  embrasures,  where  they  were  opposed  with 
great  obstinacy  by  the  garrison  with  long  spears.1  On 

1  Probably  boarding-pikes,  used  on  board  naval  vessels  in  close  combat. 


IO2  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

this  occasion  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  Major  Mont 
gomery,  who  was  killed  by  a  spear  on  entering  the 
enemy's  works  ; 1  also  of  Ensign  Willock,2  of  the  4Oth, 
who  was  killed  in  the  attack.  Three  other  officers  of 
the  same  regiment  were  also  wounded.3  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Eyre  and  three  other  officers  of  the  54th  4 
regiment  were  also  wounded,  but  I  have  the  satisfac 
tion  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  they  are  all  in  a 
fair  way  to  recover.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eyre,  who 
behaved  with  great  gallantry,  having  received  his 
wound  near  the  works,  and  Major  Montgomery  being 
killed  immediately  after,  the  command  devolved  on 
Major  Bromfield,6  whose  behaviour  on  this  occasion 
does  him  great  honor.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Buskirk,6 
with  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  and  artillery,  being 
the  second  debarkation,  came  up  soon  after  the  works 
were  carried,  having  been  retarded  by  the  roughness 
of  the  country.  I  am  much  obliged  to  this  gentleman 
for  his  exertions,  although  the  artillery  did  not  arrive 
in  time. 

I  have  annexed  a  Return  of  the  killed  and  wounded, 
by  which  your  Excellency  will  observe  that  our  loss, 
though  very  considerable,  is  very  short  of  the  Enemy's, 
who  lost  most  of  their  officers,  among  whom  was  their 

1  Major  William  Montgomery  was  killed  by  a  powerful  negro  named 
Jordan  Freeman.     And  Lieut.  Henry  Williams  by  some  traditions. 

2  Archibald  Willock. 

8  From  General  Orders  I  learn  the  4Oth  lost  Captain  George  Craigie, 
Lieutenant  H.  William  Smith,  and  Ensign  Thomas  Hyde,  who  died  of 
their  wounds.  Captain  Samuel  Wogan  of  American  Legion  was  wounded. 

4  Lieutenant  Colonel  Edmond  Eyre,  Captain  Rich,  Lieutenant  Th° 
Daunt,  Ensign  William  Rainforth,  and  volunteer  James  Boyd,  were  the 
wounded.  Col.  Eyre  was  in  the  64th  Regiment  in  1782. 

6  Stephen  Bromfield,  in  English  Army  Register  for  1781,  and  Blonv 
field  in  that  of  1782. 

•  Alexander  Van  Buskirk.  —  A. 


Brigadier-General  Arnold's  Report.  103 

commander,  Colonel  Ledyard.  Eighty-five  men  were 
found  dead  in  Fort  Griswold,  and  sixty  wounded,  most 
of  them  mortally.  Their  loss  on  the  opposite  side 
must  have  been  considerable,  but  can  not  be  ascer 
tained.  I  believe  we  have  about  70  prisoners  besides 
the  wounded  who  were  paroled.  Ten  or  twelve  of  the 
Enemy's  ships  were  burned,  among  them  three  or  four 
armed  vessels,  and  one  loaded  with  Naval  Stores.  An 
immense  quantity  of  European  and  West  India  Goods 
were  found  in  the  stores ;  among  the  former  the  cargo 
of  the  Hannah,  Captain  Watson,  from  London,  lately 
captured  by  the  Enemy,  the  whole  of  which  was  burnt 
with  the  stores,  which  proved  to  contain  a  large  Quan 
tity  of  Powder  unknown  to  us.  The  explosion  of  the 
Powder  and  change  of  wind  soon  after  the  stores  were 
fired  communicated  the  flames  to  that  part  of  the 
Town,  which  was,  notwithstanding  every  effort  to  pre 
vent  it,  unfortunately  destroyed.1  Upwards  of  50 
pieces  of  Iron  Cannon  were  destroyed  in  the  different 
Works,  (exclusive  of  the  Guns  of  the  Ships,)  a  partic 
ular  return  of  which  I  can  not  do  myself  the  Honor  to 
transmit  to  your  Excellency  at  this  time. 

1  There  is  the  greatest  absurdity  in  this  part  of  the  narrative,  for  in 
many  instances  where  houses  were  situated  at  a  great  distance  from  any 
stores,  and  contained  nothing  but  household  furniture,  they  were  set  on 
fire,  notwithstanding  the  earnest  cries  and  entreaties  of  the  women  and 
children  in  them,  who  were  threatened  with  being  burnt  up  in  their 
houses  if  they  did  not  instantly  leave  them.  Indeed  two  houses  were 
bought  off  for  ten  pounds  each  after  an  officer,  who  appeared  to  be  a  cap 
tain,  had  ordered  them  fired,  which  was  the  sum  proposed  by  the  officer, 
upon  condition,  however,  that  he  should  not  be  made  known  ;  and  where 
the  houses  were  not  burnt  they  were  chiefly  plundered  of  all  that  could 
be  carried  off.  At  the  Harbor's  Mouth  the  houses  of  poor  fishermen 
were  stripped  of  their  furniture  of  every  kind,  the  poor  people  having 
nothing  left  but  the  clothes  they  had  on.  —  Connecticut  Gazette,  October 
$th,  1781. 


IO4  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

A  very  considerable  Magazine  of  Powder,  and  Bar 
racks  to  contain  300  men,  were  found  in  Fort  Gris- 
wold,  which  Captain  Lemoine,  of  the  Royal  Artillery, 
had  my  positive  directions  to  destroy.  An  attempt  was 
made  by  him,  but  unfortunately  failed.  He  had  my 
orders  to  make  a  second  attempt.  The  reason  why  it 
was  not  done  Captain  Lemoine  will  have  the  honor  to 
explain  to  your  Excellency.1  I  should  be  wanting  in 
justice  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Navy  did  I  omit  to  ac 
knowledge  that  on  this  expedition  I  have  received 
every  possible  aid  from  them.  Captain  Beazly  has 
made  every  exertion  to  assist  our  operations,  and  not 
only  gave  up  his  cabin  to  the  sick  and  wounded  of 
ficers,  but  furnished  them  with  every  assistance  and 
refreshment  his  ship  afforded.  Lord  Dalrymple  will 
have  the  honor  to  deliver  my  dispatches.  I  beg  leave 
to  refer  your  Excellency  to  his  Lordship  for  the  par 
ticulars  of  our  operations  on  the  New  London  side. 
I  feel  myself  under  great  obligations  to  him  for  his 
exertions  upon  the  occasion.  Captain  Beckwith,2  who 
was  extremely  serviceable  to  me,  returns  with  his  Lord 
ship.  His  spirited  conduct  in  the  attack  of  Fort  Gris- 
wold  does  him  great  honor,  being  one  of  the  first  of 
ficers  who  entered  the  work.  I  beg  leave  to  refer  your 
Excellency  to  him  for  the  particulars  of  our  operations 
on  that  side,  and  to  say  I  have  the  highest  opinion  of 


1  Extract  from  General  Orders  of  the  2$th  of  September,  1781. —  The 
Commander-in-chief  informs  the  army  that  Captain  Lemoine,  of  the  Royal 
Artillery,  has  explained  to  his  satisfaction  the  reasons  that  prevented  his 
carrying  into  execution  the  orders  of  Brigadier-General  Arnold  on  the 
6th  of  September,  1781.  CLINTON. 

2  This   Captain  George   Beckwith  was  Lieutenant-General  and  com 
mander  of  the  expedition  which  reduced   Martinique  and  Guadaloupe   in 
1809,  and  was  made  a  K.  C.  B.  June  2oth,  1809,  afterward  Governor  of 
Barbadoes  for  four  years.  —  A. 


Brigadier-General  Arnold's  Report.  105 

his  abilities  as  an  officer.  I  am  greatly  indebted  to 
Captain  Stapleton  (who  acted  as  Major  of  Brigade)  for 
his  spirited  conduct  and  assistance  ;  in  particular  on 
the  attack  on  Fort  Trumbull,  and  his  endeavor  to 
prevent  plundering,1  (when  the  public  stores  were 
burnt,)  and  the  destruction  of  private  buildings.  The 
officers  and  troops  in  general  behaved  with  the  great 
est  intrepidity  and  firmness.  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
with  the  greatest  respect,  your  Excellency's  most  obe 
dient  and  most  humble  servt, 

B.  ARNOLD. 

RETURN    OF    KILLED    AND    WOUNDED. 

i  Major,  i  Ensign,  2  Sergeants,  and  44  Rank  and 
File,  killed  ;  i  Lieutenant-Colonel,  3  Captains,  2  Lieu 
tenants,  2  Ensigns,  8  Sergeants,  2  Drummers,  and  127 
Rank  and  File,  wounded.  Of  the  wounded  officers  i 
Captain,  i  Lieutenant,  and  i  Ensign,  are  since  dead. 

JOHN  STAPLETON, 
Captain  and  Acting  Major  of  Brigade. 

1  It  was  afterwards  well  understood  that  most  of  the  spoil  and  havoc 
in  private  houses  was  the  work  of  a  few  worthless  vagrants  of  the  town, 
who  prowled  in  the  wake  of  the  invader,  hoping,  in  the  general  confusion, 
not  to  be  detected.  —  Caulkins. 


io6  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

RETURN    OF    ORDNANCE,    AMMUNITION,    &C., 

Taken  this  day  in  Fort  Griswold  and  its  dependencies, 
by  a  detatchment  of  His  Majesty's  troops  under  the 
command  of  Brigadier-General  Arnold,  on  an  expedi 
tion  to  Connecticut,  viz.,  in  Fort  Griswold : 

ORDNANCE,    IRON,    MOUNTED    ON    CARRIAGES. 

Garrison  18  pounders,  i  12  pounders,  14 

9  "  2  6  I 

4  13"  I 

Travelling  12      "           i                4  2 

Total,  23 

IN   THE   FLECHE. 

Ordnance,  Iron,  on  Travelling 

Carriages,                                  4  pounders,  3 

ON    THE    LOWER    BATTERY. 

Ordnance,  Iron,  Mounted        (  18  pounders,  7 

on  Garrison  Carriages          (12           "  2 

Total  of  Iron  Ordnance,  35 

Pikes,                           80             Musquets,  French,  106 

ROUND   SHOT. 

1 8  pounders,     1680      12  pounders,  2100 

9    "         290       6    "  100 

4            200       3  40 

GRAPE,   STANDS    OF. 

1 8  pounders,             230               12  pounders,  340 

9-        "                       75                6          "  70 

4        "                      90                3          "  75 


tirigadier-General  Arnold's  Report.          107 

CARTRIDGES,    PAPER   FILLED. 

1 8  pounders,      12     12  pounders,    23     9  pounders,     8 

6  44  14     3  6 

Musket  Cartridges,  10,000. 

Powder,  corned,  150  wt. 

i    Garrison  Spare  carriage.  12  pounder. 

i    Travelling     " 

i   Gyn   Triangle    compleat;    2    ammunition   waggons, 

Stores  for  the  Laboratory,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

J.  LEMOINE, 

Captain  of  Artillery. 

BETSEY,    SLOOP,  NEW    LONDON    HARBOUR,    6TH    SEPT.,  1781. 

Return  of  ordnance  found  and  spiked  by  a  detatch- 
ment  of  the  army  under  the  command  of  Brigadier- 
General  Arnold,  on  the  New  London  side,  6th  Sept., 
1781  : 

Iron  1 8  pounders  mounted  in  Fort  Trumbull,  12 

Iron  6  pounders  mounted  in  Fort  Trumbull,  3 

Iron  1 2  or  9  pounders  mounted  at  Fort  Folly,1  6 

Iron  1 2  or  9  pounders  dismounted,  2 

Iron  12  pounders  on  the  road  to  New  London,  i 

24 

A  Quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores  of  different  kinds 
were  destroyed  in  the  Magazine  at  Fort  Trumbull,  and 
the  Meeting  House  at  New  London. 

WILLIAM  H.  HORNDON, 
First  Lieutenant,  Regiment  Royal  Artillery. 

1  This  was  known  to  the  Americans  by  the  kindred  name  of  Fort  Non 
sense.  It  occupied  the  extreme  height  of  Town  Hill,  where  now  stands 
the  house  erected  for  F.  M.  Hale,  Esq.  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  M.  L.  Al- 
ger.  When  the  excavation  was  being  made  for  the  cellar,  several  relics 
of  its  Revolutionary  history,  in  the  shape  of  round  and  grape  shot,  deeply 
eaten  by  rust,  were  exhumed. 


LIEUTENANT-COLONEL    UPHAM 


TO 


GOVERNOR  FRANKLIN,1  OF  NEW  JERSEY, 

DATED   SEPTEMBER    13111,    1781. 

IMMEDIATELY  on  receipt  of  yours  by  Capt.  Camp 
I  made   every  preparation  consistent  with  the  nec 
essary  secresy   to  furnish   as  many  Refugees  for  the 
proposed  expedition  as  could  be  spared  from  the  gar 
rison. 

My  first  care  was  to  put  a  supply  of  provisions  on 
board  the  vessels.  I  talked  of  an  expedition,  and  pro 
posed  to  go  myself,  nor  could  I  do  more  until  the 
fleet  appeared  in  sight.  Major  Hubbil  was  too  unwell 

1  This  worthy  had  recently  returned  from  his  rural  quarters  in  Litch- 
field  jail,  where  he,  with  Mayor  Mathews',  of  New  York,  was  confined,  in 
1776,  by  the  committee  "for  inquiring  into  and  detecting  conspiracies." 
—  Hollister. 

William  Franklin,  last  royal  governor  of  New  Jersey,  in  office  from 
1762  to  1782,  two  years  of  which  time  he  spent  in  jail  in  Connecticut  (al 
luded  to  above),  being  released  only  in  exchange  for  the  provincial  "  Pres 
ident  of  Delaware."  In  1782  he  sailed  for  England,  where  the  Govern 
ment  paid  him  ,£1,800  for  losses  and  .£800  per  year  pension.  He  was  a 
natural  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  born  in  Philadelphia,  1729;  died  in 
England,  November  17,  1813.  His  mother  is  unknown.  About  a  year 
after  his  birth  his  father  married,  took  the  child  to  his  home,  and  brought 
him  up  as  his  son. 

B.  F.  gave  to  William  by  will,  his  lands  in  Nova  Scotia,  also  all  debts 
due  from  him,  and  added  this  clause  :  "  The  part  he  acted  against  me  in 
the  late  war,  which  is  of  public  notoriety,  will  account  for  my  leaving  him 
no  more  of  an  estate  he  endeavored  to  deprive  me  of."  —  A. 


Lieut-Col.  Upkam  to  Governor  Franklin.        109 

to  go  with  me ;  I  therefore  left  him  to  take  charge  of 
the  fort,  and  with  as  much  dispatch  as  possible  em 
barked  one  hundred  Loyalists,  exclusive  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  man  the  two  armed  sloops.  With 
these  we  joined  the  fleet  in  season  to  prevent  the  least 
delay. 

By  the  enclosed  arrangement  you  see  we  had  the 
honor  to  be  included  in  the  first  division,  and  I  have 
the  pleasure  to  add  we  were  the  first  on  shore. 

We  advanced  on  the  right  of  the  whole  to  a  height 
at  a  small  distance  from  the  shore,  where  we  were  or 
dered  to  cover  the  38th  regiment  from  a  wood  on  our 
right  until  the  second  division  came  up. 

We  were  then  ordered  to  change  our  position  from 
the  right  to  the  left  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  main  body. 

This  alteration  derived  its  propriety  from  the  cir 
cumstance  of  the  rebels  having  gone  over  to  the  left, 
from  an  apprehension  of  being  too  much  crowded  be 
tween  our  troops  and  the  river  on  their  left.  Thus  ar 
ranged  we  proceeded  to  the  town  of  New  London, 
constantly  skirmishing  with  rebels,  who  fled  from  hill 
to  hill,  and  from  stone  fences  which  intersected  the 
country  at  small  distances.  Having  reached  the  south 
erly  part  of  the  town 1  the  general  requested  me  to  take 
possession  of  the  hill  north  of  the  meeting-house,2  where 
the  rebels  had  collected,  and  which  they  seemed  re- 

1  Colonel   Upham's  command  defiled  through  Cape  Ann   Street  and 
Lewis  Lane,  and  set  fire  to  the  house  of  Pickett  Latimer,  on  the  old  Col 
chester  road,  now  Vauxhall  Street.  —  Caulkins.   This  was  the  first  build 
ing  destroyed  ;  in  it  were   the  goods  of  the  inhabitants,  who  removed 
them  to  it  from  the  central  portion  of  the  town,  as  being  a  place  of  greater 
safety. 

2  This  was  the  hill  just  back  of  Pound,  now  Granite  Street,  extending 
down  to  the  First  Burying  Ground.  —  A. 


1 10  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

solved  to  hold.  We  made  a  circle  to  the  left,  and  soon 
gained  the  ground  in  contest. 

Here  we  had  one  man  killed  and  one  wounded.1 
This  height  being  the  outpost  was  left  to  us  and  the 
Yagers.  Here  we  remained,  exposed  to  a  constant  fire 
from  the  rebels  on  the  neighboring  hills,  and  from  the 
fort  on  the  Groton  side,  until  the  last  was  carried  by 
the  British  troops.  We  took  the  same  route  in  our 
return  as  in  going  up,  equally  exposed,  though  not  so 
much  annoyed.  Every  thing  required  was  cheerfully 
undertaken,  and  spiritedly  effected  by  the  party  I  had 
the  honor  to  command. 

A  small  party  from  Vanalstine's  Post  joined  us, 
which  increased  my  command  to  120.  They  landed 
and  returned  with  us,  and  behaved  exceedingly  well. 
The  Armed  Vessels'  Association,  and  Colonel  Martin, 
went  close  into  the  shore,  and  covered  the  landing  on 
the  New  London  side.  At  the  request  of  the  General 
I  furnished  boats  to  land  forty  of  the  troops  on  the 
Groton  side.  Captains  Gardener  and  Thomas  2  would 
have  gladly  gone  up  to  the  town,  but  were  not  per 
mitted. 

1  Jonathan  Brooks,  an  eye-witness  of  the  destruction  of  the  town,  says  : 
"  The  man  who  was  killed  was  shot  by  a  party  on  the  hill  lot  just  north  of 
Vauxhall  Street,  and  was  buried  where  he  fell  near  to  an  ash  tree,"  prob 
ably  one  of  those  now  standing  near  corner  of  Vauxhall  and   Channing 
streets.  —  A. 

2  This  is  no  doubt  the  Captain  Thomas  on  board  whose  sloop  Rufus 
Avery  was  put  as  prisoner.    (See  page  42,  R.  Avery's  Narrative.) 


SIR   HENRY  CLINTON'S 

GENERAL   ORDERS. 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  ARNOLD  having  re 
ported  to  the  commander-in-chief  the  success  of 
the  expedition,  under  his  direction,  against  New  Lon 
don  on  the  6th  inst,  His  Excellency  has  the  pleasure 
of  signifying  to  the  army  the  high  sense  he  entertains 
of  the  very  distinguished  merit  of  the  corps  employed 
upon  that  service. 

But  whilst  he  draws  the  greatest  satisfaction  from 
the  ardor  of  the  troops  which  enabled  them  to  carry 
by  assault  a  work  of  such  great  strength  as  Fort  Gris- 
wold  is  represented  to  be,  he  can  not  but  lament  with 
the  deepest  concern  the  heavy  loss  in  officers  and  men 
sustained  by  the  4Oth  and  54th  regiments,  who  had 
the  honor  of  the  attack  ;  and  as  no  words  can  do  jus 
tice  to  the  discipline  and  spirit  which  they  shewed  on 
that  occasion,  His  Excellency  can  only  request  they 
will  not  fail  to  represent  their  conduct  to  their  sover 
eign  in  the  most  honorable  terms.  The  commander- 
in-chief  begs  leave  to  express  his  obligation  to  Briga 
dier-General  Arnold  for  his  very  spirited  conduct  on 
the  occasion ;  and  he  assures  that  general  officer  that 
he  took  every  precaution  in  his  power  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  the  town,  which  is  a  misfortune  that 
gives  him  much  concern.  His  Excellency  also  feels 
himself  greatly  indebted  to  all  the  officers  of  the  Reg 
ular  and  Provincial  Corps  which  accompanied  him  on 


1 1 2  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

that  service,  but  more  particularly  to  Lieutenant-Colo 
nel  Eyre,  Major  Bromfield,  and  Captain  Millet,  who 
commanded  the  attack,  and  Lord  Dalrymple,  Captains 
Beckwith  and  Stapleton,  of  whose  very  able  assistance 
and  distinguished  gallantry  the  brigadier  makes  the 
most  honorable  mention. 

The  commander-in-chief  has  likewise  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  taking  this  public  occasion  of  signifying 
to  the  army  how  much  they  are  indebted  to  the  hu 
manity  and  benevolence  of  Captain  Beazley,  of  His 
Majesty's  Ship  Amphion,  to  whose  very  friendly  and 
generous  assistance  many  of  the  wounded  officers  and 
men  are  most  probably  indebted  for  their  lives. 

FRED.    MACKENZIE,   D.  A.  General. 


COURT-MARTIAL. 

AN  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  a  general  Court- 
Martial,  beginning  and  held  at  New  London  and 
Groton,  in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  on  the  2oth  day 
of  August,  Anno  Domini  1782,  by  warrant  and  order 
of  His  Excellency  the  Captain-General  of  the  said  state, 
of  which  Brigadier-General  Roger  Newberry  was  Pres 
ident, 

In  which  the  following  crimes  and  charges  were  ex 
hibited  at  said  Court,  and  by  them  with  the  proofs  as 
serting  the  same  were  duly  heard  and  considered,  after 
which  the  sentences  of  said  Court-martial  were  as  fol 
lows: 

Jonathan  Latimer,  Colonel  of  the  3d1  regiment,  for 
breach  of  military  law  in  not  leading  his  regiment  for 
ward,  and  preventing  the  enemy  from  sacking  and 
burning  the  town  of  New  London,  on  the  6th  day  of 
September,  A.  D.  1781.  From  this  charge  he  was  ac 
quitted  with  honor. 

Nathan  Gallup,  Esq.,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  8th  * 
regiment,  came  prisoner  before  the  court,  when  the  fol 
lowing  charge  was  exhibited  against  him,  viz  :  That 
whereas,  on  the  6th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1781,  (the 

1  The  3d  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia  included  all  men  liable  to 
duty  in  tlie  towns  of  New  London  and  Lyme.  The  8th  those  of  Groton, 
Stonington,  and  Preston.  —  A. 

8 


H4  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

day  on  which  the  garrison  and  fortress  standing  in  said 
Groton  was  attacked  and  stormed  by  a  detatchment  of 
the  British  army ;  the  inhabitants  of  said  Groton  mas 
sacred  ;  their  houses  burnt  and  their  property  plun 
dered  ;)  that  he  then  holding  and  sustaining  the  afore 
said  office  and  a  commission  thereto  in  said  regiment, 
was  shamefully  negligent  in  his  military  duty,  and 
guilty  of  acting  a  cowardly  part  when  called  to  and  in 
actual  service. 

ist.  In  not  supporting  the  garrison  in  said  fort  with 
succour,  which  was  in  his  power,  and  by  him  had  been 
specially  engaged  to  the  commandant  for  his  encour 
agement  in  defending  it,  and  in  making  no  diversion 
upon  the  enemy  before  the  storm  in  favor  of  the  gar 
rison. 

2dly.  In  suffering  the  militia  to  remain  strolling 
and  unembodied  upon  the  hills,  in  fair  view  of  the  en 
emy  when  they  were  marching  up  to  attack  the  fort. 

3dly.  In  not  falling  upon  and  attacking  the  enemy 
at  the  favorable  moment  of  their  re-embarkation,  which 
movement  of  the  enemy  was  said  to  be  well  known  to 
him. 

4thly.  In  not  attempting  to  prevent  the  burning  of 
houses  and  other  buildings  of  the  inhabitants  in  Gro 
ton,  done  by  scattering  parties  of  the  enemy. 

5thly.  In  not  preventing  the  wanton  plundering  of 
property  belonging  to  the  inhabitants,  done  by  the 
militia  and  others  in  the  houses  which  escaped  the 
conflagration,  and  elsewhere  in  said  town  after  the 
storm  of  said  garrison  and  the  burning  done  by  the 
enemy. 

And  6thly.  In  not  preserving  the  public  stores  in 
the  fort  after  the  evacuation  by  the  enemy,  but  suffer 
ing  them  to  be  embezzled  and  plundered;  all  contrary 


Court- Martial.  1 1 5 

to  the  rules  and  regulations  for  preserving  order  and 
good  government  among  the  militia  of  said  state,  and 
unbecoming  an  officer. 

Sentence.  --The  court,  upon  due  consideration  of 
the  whole  matter  before  them,  are  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  Lieutenant-Colonel  Nathan  Gallup  is  not 
guilty  of  neglect  of  duty  or  of  cowardly  behaviour,  as 
charged  against  him.  He,  therefore,  by  the  Court  is 
acquitted  with  honor. 

Captain  John  Morgan  of  the  8th  regiment,  was  ad 
judged  guilty  of  neglect  of  duty  and  unofficer  like  be 
haviour,  and  sentenced  to  be  suspended  during  the 
present  war  with  Great  Britain. 

Captain  Ebenezer  Witter,  of  the  8th  regiment,  was 
charged  with  being  concerned  in  plundering  public 
property  at  Fort  Griswold.  The  court  found  him  not 
guilty  of  plundering,  but  that  he  acted  a  very  impru 
dent  part  in  ordering  the  gun  carried  to  his  house, 
and  the  court  ordered  him  to  return  the  said  gun  to 
the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Griswold. 

Captain  Thomas  Wheeler  and  Lieutenant  John  Wil 
liams,  of  the  8th  regiment,  were  charged  with  plunder 
ing  in  a  wanton  and  shameful  manner  the  goods  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Groton  on  the  day  of  the  battle. 

The  court  found  them  guilty,  and  sentenced  them 
to  be  cashiered,  and  be  disabled  in  future  from  holding 
or  sustaining  any  military  commission  in  this  state, 
and  that  they  pay  the  expenses  of  their  trial  in  equal 
parts. 

Daniel  Latimer,  Ensign  of  a  company  of  militia  in 


1 1 6  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

the  3d  regiment,  was  charged  with  being  negligent  of 
his  duty  in  not  seasonably  forwarding  intelligence  to 
his  colonel  of  the  expected  approach  and  attack  of  the 
enemy.  He  was  found  not  guilty,  and  was  therefore 
acquitted. 

Zabdiel  Rogers,  Esq.,  Colonel  of  the  2oth  regiment,1 
was  called  upon  to  answer  to  the  charge  of  remaining 
inactive  upon  the  6th  day  of  September.  The  sentence 
was  not  guilty,  and  acquitted  with  honor. 

Joseph  Harris,2  Jun.,  Esq.,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
3d  regiment,  came  prisoner  before  the  Court,  when  the 
following  charges  were  exhibited  against  him  :  That 
on  the  day  when  the  British  burned  the  town  he  was 
shamefully  negligent  in  his  military  duty,  and  guilty 
of  acting  a  cowardly  part. 

ist.  In  not  notifying  his  chief  colonel  of  the  enemy's 
approach. 

2d.     In  not  opposing  their  entrance  into  the  town. 

3d.  In  not  supporting  a  part  of  said  regiment  when 
in  battle  at  the  north  part  of  the  town,  which  he  was 
requested  to,  but  shamefully  refused  to  do. 

4th.  In  allowing  the  militia  to  remain  strolling  and 
unembodied  upon  the  hill  in  sight  of  the  enemy.  And 

1  The  2oth  regiment  was  from  Norwich.  —  A. 

2  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harris  resided  on  the  Town  Hill  road,  nearly  op 
posite  Fort  Nonsense.     He  is  alluded  to   by  John  Hempsted    and  Jona 
than  Brooks  in  their  narratives  in  not  very  complimentary  terms.     He 
appears  to  have  been  the  only  regimental  officer  of  the  3d  who  resided  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  hostilities  that  day.     In  the  Connecticut  Gazette 
of  May  2d,  1783,  he  replied  to  the  finding  of  the  Court,  and  excused  him 
self  from  the  charge,  taking  up  each  specification  in  its  order,  and  com 
menting  at  length  upon  it.     Some  of  the  arguments  brought  forward  by 
him  in  support  of  his  innocence  are  more  ingenious  than  logical  ;  and,  as 
viewed  at  this  late  day,  his  conclusions  are  strained  and  far  drawn.  —  H. 


Court- Martial.  117 

5thly.  In  not  falling  upon  and  attacking  the  enemy 
on  their  retreat. 

The  court  unanimously  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Harris  has  been  and  is  a  worthy 
member  of  society,  and  a  good  citizen  in  private  life, 
but  not  suitably  qualified  for  military  service  ;  that  he 
was  not  guilty  of  any  neglect  of  duty  on  said  6th  of 
September  from  enmity  or  disaffection  to  the  independ 
ence  of  the  American  states  ;  but  the  Court  are  unan 
imously  of  opinion  that  he  was  and  is  guilty  of  the 
matter  charged  against  him  in  the  four  first  articles  of 
charge,  and  also  are  of  opinion  that  he  is  guilty  in  the 
fifth,  and  that  the  whole  are  proved  and  supported 
against  him ;  therefore  the  Court  gives  sentence 
against  the  said  Harris,  that  he  be  cashiered  as  being 
a  person  unsuitable  to  sustain  the  aforesaid  office. 

Warham  Williams  was  found  guilty  of  taking  and 
holding  three  guns,  and  was  remanded  to  the  civil 
authority  to  be  dealt  with. 

Benajah  Leffingwell,  Major  of  the  2oth  regiment,  was 
charged  with  neglect  of  duty  on  the  day  of  battle,  from 
which  charge  he  was  acquitted. 

The  findings  of  the  Court  are  approved  by  the  Cap 
tain-General,  and  by  his  command  are  made  public. 

Signed,  HEZEKIAH  BISSEL, 

Judge  Advocate  of  said  Court-Martial. 


FROM 

THE    CONNECTICUT    ARCHIVES. 


A 


Records  of  the  Council  of  Safety. 

T  a  meeting  of  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Safety 
at  Lebanon,  Wednesday,  I4th  November,  1781, 


A  motion  by  a  letter  from  the  selectmen,  requesting 
leave  to  deliver  a  number  of  articles  lately  sent  to 
Roswell  Saltonstall  from  N.  York,  as  a  relief  under  his 
sufferings  &c.,  which  have  been  detained  by  said  select 
men,  agreeable  to  a  resolve  of  the  Council  18  Sept. 
1781,  taken  into  consideration,  —  and  passed  the  fol 
lowing  vote  and  resolve,  viz  : 

Whereas  sundry  persons  in  N.  York  have  charitably 
given  to  Mr.  Roswell  Saltonstall  of  N.  London  several 
articles  of  household  goods  and  clothing  for  the  use  of 
his  family  towards  repairing  in  a  small  degree  the  very 
heavy  loss  he  sustained  in  the  burning  of  his  house, 
all  his  goods  &C.1  by  the  enemy  in  their  late  incursion 
and  outrage  at  New  London  and  Groton,  and  the  said 
Mr.  Saltonstall  being,  as  it  is  said,  of  dubious  character 
with  respect  to  his  political  principles,  and  not  having 
taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  this  State,  the  said  arti 
cles  are  taken  and  detained  by  the  selectmen  of  New 
London  agreeable  to  a  resolve  of  this  board  18  Sept. 
last,  and  by  said  selectmen  reported  and  earnestly  rec- 

1  From  report  of  Connecticut  Gazette  of  buildings  burned,  we  learn  he 
lost  on  Main  Street  a  house  and  cooper  shop  on  Beach  Street,  distill 
house  and  store,  and  opposite  thereto  a  store  and  a  cooper  shop  improved 
as  a  store.  — A. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  119 

ommended  in  their  own  and  the  name  of  the  late  pris 
oners  taken  at  said  towns,  to  be  given  and  delivered  to 
said  Saltonstall  according  to  the  intent  of  the  donors : 
This  Board,  taking  the  matters  aforesaid  into  consider 
ation  and  by  the  examination  of  a  number  of  witnesses 
cited  by  the  state  attorney  for  the  county  of  N.  Lon 
don  and  lately  prisoners  taken  at  said  towns  &c.,  do 
not  find  that  the  said  Saltonstall  has  ever  done  or  said 
anything  prejudicial  to  the  cause  and  interest  of  these 
States,  and  it  appears  that  when  he  was  lately  at  New 
York  he  was  exceedingly  attentive  to  the  interest  of 
the  prisoners  taken  as  aforesaid  and  confined  in  prison 
there,  and  by  solicitations  obtained  for  and  furnished 
them  with  a  variety  of  necessaries  and  comforts,  with 
out  which  they  must  have  suffered  greatly  if  not  have 
perished  in  their  confinement;  and  as  it  would  be  hard 
and  almost  inhuman  to  deprive  him  and  his  numerous 
family  of  that  small  relief  which  benevolent  charity 
has  drawn  from  his  friends  at  New  York,  by  the  special 
request  of  the  prisoners  and  the  selectmen  of  N.  Lon 
don  — 

This  Board  are  thereupon  unanimously  of  opinion, 
that  the  said  goods  and  articles  ought  to  be  given  and 
delivered  up  to  the  said  Saltonstall,  to  be  for  his  own 
use  and  benefit  according  to  the  true  intent  and  mean 
ing  of  the  donors,  and  do  hereby  permit,  authorize,  and 
direct  the  said  selectmen  of  New  London  to  deliver  the 
same  accordingly. 

Whereas  a  number  of  prisoners  lately  taken  from 
New  London  and  Groton  by  the  enemy  in  their  in 
cursion  there,  and  carried  to  New  York  and  confined 
in  the  sugar  house  there,  naked  and  in  a  suffering  con 
dition,  who  were  humanely  relieved  by  the  generosity 
of  Mr.  Francis  Winthrop,  a  resident  in  New  York,  to 


I2O  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

the  amount  of  near  one  hundred  pounds,  L.  mon.,  and 
having  a  mother  and  sisters  at  New  London,1  requested 
Ebenezer  Ledyard,  Esq.,  of  Groton,  a  prisoner  there, 
in  his  return  to  N.  London  in  a  flag,  as  the  only  reo 
ompence  for  his  generosity  aforesaid,  to  take  the 
charge  of  a  pair  of  silver  cans,  silk  for  gowns  for  his 
five  sisters,  and  a  fe.w  other  small  articles,  as  a  present 
to  his  mother  and  sisters,  and  the  same  deliver  them 
on  his  return,  on  which  the  said  Mr.  Ledyard  and 
other  prisoners  informed  him  they  apprehended  no 
difficulty  or  objection,  on  which  he,  the  said  Mr.  Win- 
throp,  presumed  to  send  them  forward  in  said  flag 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  Ledyard  for  the  purpose  afore 
said,  all  which  appears  to  this  board  by  full  and  suf 
ficient  testimony:  And  whereas  it  is  represented  that 
Capt.  Havens,  commander  of  the  privateer  briga  Jay, 
lying  in  the  harbour  of  N.  London,  inspecting  said  flag 
in  her  return  has  taken  said  articles  into  his  custody 
as  articles  illegally  imported,  for  the  purpose  of  libel 
ling  the  same  for  tryal  &c. :  This  Board,  considering 
the  great  humanity  and  generosity  of  the  said  Mr. 
Winthrop  to  the  prisoners  aforesaid  and  the  special 
request  of  said  prisoners,  and  as  the  said  Winthrop 
was  encouraged  by  them  that  he  might  safely  send 
said  articles  to  his  friends  as  aforesaid,  merely  as  a 
present  for  their  particular  and  personal  use  and  not 
for  trade,  do  advise  and  recommend,  under  the  partic 
ular  circumstances  aforesaid  and  by  no  means  to  dis- 

1  This  family  resided  in  the  Winthrop  house,  near  which  stands  the  "  Old 
Mill  "  built  in  1650,  for  Governor  Winthrop.  Francis  was  a  tory  residing 
in  New  York,  and  as  such,  any  of  his  property  was  liable  to  seizure  wher 
ever  found. 

Robert,  another  brother,  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  admiral,  being  in  the 
English  Navy,  was  proof  enough  that  the  occupants  were  "  friends  to 
government  "  to  cause  their  house  to  be  spared  though  others  quite  near 
were  burned. 


From  the  Connecticut  Arc/lives.  121 

courage  the  humanity  of  our  enemies,  that  said  articles 
be  permitted  to  be  delivered  to  the  persons  to  whom 
sent,  and  that  the  same  be  not  proceeded  with  for  tryal 
or  burdened  with  any  further  expence. 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  governor  &  council  of  safety 
held  at  Lebanon  the  28th  day  of  March  1782 

Upon  memorial  of  Benjamin  Woodworth  of  Norwich 
shewing  that  he  had  two  sons  wounded  in  Groton  fort 
on  the  6th  of  Sept.  last  and  that  he  hath  been  at  great 
expense  &c  in  nursing  &c  praying  for  some  relief  &c. 

Resolved  by  this  Board,  That  for  present  relief  Capt 
Jabez  Perkins  is  hereby  ordered  to  deliver  to  sd  Benj 
Woodworth  out  of  £  Tax  half  a  barrel  of  Pork  half  a 
Barrcll  of  Beef  &  one  bbl  Rie  Flour  &  also  2  gallons 
of  rum  on  account  with  the  State  which  articles  are  to 
be  delivered  in  acct  with  sd  Woodworth  subject  to  a 
future  consideration  &  settlement. 

TEST:   W«.  WILLIAMS,  Clerk. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,   VOL.  xxn.,  Doc.  80. 

To  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 

Connecticut  to  be  convened  at  Hartford  (by  adjoiirn- 

ment]  on  the  io//z  day  of  January  Anno  Dom  1782. 

The  Memorial  of  the  Subscribers  Inhabitants  of  the 

Town  of  Groton  &  Towns  adjacent  humbly  sheweth — 

That  in  the  late  attack  made  by  the  Enemy  upon 

the   towns   of   New  London  &   Groton  &  the  public 

Fortresses  therein,  they  were  induced  upon  the  most 

humane  &  disinterested  motives,  in  the  moment  of  an 

Alarm  to  enter  as  Volunteers  into  Forts  Trumbull  & 

Griswold  under  their  late  Amiable  Comander  - 

That  the  Memorialists  tho  they  have  (thro  the  hand 
of  Heaven)  hitherto  survived  the  Conflict  &  Inhuman 


122  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Carnage  which  ensued,  yet  they  have  suffered  more  or 
less  from  wounds  &  Contutions  all  that  Rage  &  Cruelty 
could  inflict  short  of  Death. 

That  they  cant  expect  your  Honors  to  fully  com 
pensate  for  all  the  pains  &  distresses  they  have  under 
gone,  which  cannot  be  measured,  yet  in  as  much  as 
they  have  made  so  great  a  Sacrafice  out  of  regard  to 
their  Country  &  in  Defence  of  the  State  they  humbly 
beg  leave  to  hope  your  Honors  will  stand  fully  justi 
fied  in  directing  an  enquiry  of  the  particular  Case, 
Circumstances  &  Sufferings  of  each  of  the  Memorialists 
&  thereupon  to  grant  them  such  Relief  as  your  Honors 
may  think  consistent  with  Justice  &  Humanity  &  they 
as  in  Duty  bound  shall  pray. 

John  Morgan  third,  Joseph  Woodmansfee, 

Charles  Eldredge  Junr,  John  Daboll  Junr, 

Daniel  Stan  ton  Junr,  Christopher  Latham,  Jr, 

Edward  Stanton,  Isaac  Morgan, 

Park  Avery  Junr,  Sam1.  Edgecomb  Jr, 

Gary  Leeds,  Daniel  Eldridge  Ist, 

John  Starr,  Edward  Latham, 

Elisha  Prior,  Sam1.  Abraham. 

Decb.  1781. 

In  the  Lower  Houfe. 

On  this  memorial  Samuel  Mott  and  Rufus  Lathrop 
Esqrsl  are  appointed  a  Committee  to  inquire  into  the 
Matters  set  forth  therein  and  similar  Cases  and  what 
they  shall  find  to  report  to  the  General  Assembly  to  be 
holden  in  Hartford  in  May  next. 

TEST:  JEDEDIAH  STRONG,  Clerk, 
Concurred  in  the  Upper  Houfe. 

TEST:   GEORGE   WYLLYS,  Sec'y. 

1  Robert  Crary  was  afterward  added  to  the  Committee  and  signed  theii 
Report,  which  follows.     Page  131. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  123 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  XXIL,  Doc.  337. 

71?  Col.  McClellen,  Commandant  at  the  Pojls  of  New 
London  &  Groton. 

We,  Inhabitants  of  N.  London,  beg  leave  to  rep 
resent  our  fears  &  apprehenfions  for  the  fafety  of 
faid  Ports  through  the  infuing  fummer; — from  the 
defencelefs  ftate  of  the  Garrifons,  &c.,  and  from  the 
growing  object  of  this  Town,  by  the  indufterous  in 
habitants  erecting  a  number  of  Houfes  &  Stores,  in 
order  to  aid  and  affift  yc  fpirited  Gentlemen  in  the 
country,  in  fitting  &  equiping  their  Privateers,  which 
are  now  numerous  &  formidable  ;  Several  Prizes  are 
brought  in,  &  great  wealth  may  be  foon  expected,  all 
which  is  as  likely  to  provoke  the  narrow  pitiful  revenge 
of  our  daftardly  enemies,  to  diftroy  us  this  sumer,  as 
laft. 

Every  year  fince  the  commincement  of  the  war,  this 
Town  has  been  alarmed  with  envafions,  the  confe- 
quences  has  always  been  that  great  numbers  of  me- 
litia  are  called  from  their  labours  &  fent  in  upon  us, 
on  fo  fhort  a  notice  yl  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  be 
complcatly  equiped ;  and  have  been  detained  here  dur 
ing  a  long  fummer,  greatly  to  their  private  lofs  —  the 
public,  and  the  immediate  expence  of  the  State,  which 
has  been  much  greater  then  if  we  had  proper  Garri 
fons  &  Matrofs  Companys  ftationed  here,  without  an- 
fwering  any  real  means  of  defennce ;  and  at  the  fame 
time  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  are  equally  fuffer- 
ers  from  undifciplined  melitia.  And  from  the  late  at 
tack  at  this  Place  it  was  fo  evident  that  the  melitia 
were  not,  and  could  not  be  here  in  time  to  be  of  any 
fervice,  that  it  needs  no  obfervation  to  the  contrary. 


124  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

To  remedy  which  &  to  fecure  thefe  Ports  we  fub- 
mit  it  to  you  as  our  opinion,  that 

Fort  Grifwold  fliould  be  garrifoned  with  at  lead  one 
hundred  &  fifty  good  men  —  that  the  Fort  be  provided 
with  200  fmall  arms  &  fufficient  number  of  cartriges 
&  as  many  pikes  for  ufe  of  volunteers,  who  may  be 
called  in  as  they  are  many  tranfient  perfons  &  fuch  y' 
are  unable  to  equip  themfelves ;  and  that  on  the  firing 
of  the  alarm  guns,  or  notice  given,  it  fhall  be  the  im 
mediate  duty  of  the  neighbouring  militia  to  march  into 
the  defence  of  the  sd  Fort  on  pain  of  nothing  fhort  of 
fuffering  the  penalty  of  the  Law,  &  that  to  be  made 
corporeal,  let  the  delinquent  be  officer  or  private ;  and 
as  foon  as  the  alarm  is  over  to  be  difmiffed. 

That  their  be  a  Matrofs  Company  raifed  fufficient 
to  man  what  Field  Peices  we  have  on  N.  L.  fide  & 
thofe  at  Norwich,  &  to  be  compleatly  furnifhed  with 
horfes,  &c.,  and  ftationed  in  the  Fort  on  Town  Hill ; 
&  be  provided  with  fome  fmall  arms,  as  many  volun 
teers  will  run  to  their  affiftance  in  time  of  alarm. 
That  the  melitia  in  the  neighbourhood  be  ordered  in 
as  on  Groton  fide.  The  Garrifon  at  Fort  Trumbull 
may  be  fmall,  &  to  quit  it  on  the  actual  approach  of 
the  enemy  &  to  retire  to  the  defence  of  the  field  peices 
or  Fort  Grifwold. 

That  no  veffels  on  the  firing  of  the  alarm  guns,  that 
are  in  the  harbour  be  permitted  to  be  removed,  ex 
cepting  fmall  craft,  but  by  order  &  direction  of  the 
Commandant. 

That  after  ye  alarm,  or  actual  fervice  is  over  their 
fhall  be  an  enquiry  into  the  conduct  of  every  officer 
&  private  &  all  others  ordered  on  duty,  &  on  failure 
of  duty  to  be  punifhed  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
offence,  which  punifhment  ought  to  be  corporeal.  For 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  125 

men  will  not  regard  fines  when  their  property  is  at 
flake.  Common  rank  &  file  will  delight  in  fuch  a  mil 
itia  law.  We  obferve  further  it  is  our  opinion,  if  the 
late  worthy  Col.  Ledyard  (whom  we  fincerely  lament) 
had  only  fifty  good  men  in  the  Fort  under  his  abfo- 
lute  command,  he  with  them  might  have  empreff'd 
&  compelled  into  its  defence  two  or  three  hundred 
feamen  &  others,  which  had  deferted  from  Privateers 
&  fhipping  in  order  to  plunder.  But  inftead  of  this 
he  was  as  a  man  without  hands,  and  could  get  none 
into  the  fort  only  by  perfuation.  He  gave  out  his 
pofitive  orders  for  all  feamen  to  repair  over  to  the 
Fort.  He  fired  upon  the  fhiping  to  flop  them  from 
runing  away.  But  he  was  neglected  with  impunity. 
He  was  difobey'd  becaufe  the  laws  are  not  adequate 
for  the  punifhment  of  difobedience  of  orders.  They 
ought  to  be  exceedingly  fevere  when  called  out  into 
action.  And  if  men  of  Spirit  who  run  to  the  defence 
of  any  port  in  time  of  danger  are  to  be  unfupported 
&  facrificed  by  their  neighbours,  (who  are  at  liberty 
to  take  care  of  their  effects,  keep  out  of  danger  &  not 
liable  to  corporeal  punifhment),  who  will  run  the  rifque 
in  future  ?  Wee  make  bold  to  fay,  had  fome  Gentle 
men  neglected  their  duty  ye  6th  Spr.  lafl,  they  would 
have  faved  thoufands  of  their  property. 

If  a  fmall  cruifing  boat  could  be  alowed  to  the  Gar- 
rifon,  it  might  be  an  encouragement  to  inlifting  their 
men  &  alfo  obtaining  intelligence,  the  profits  to  be 
theirs. 

If  all  or  any  of  the   above  facts  &  reprefentations 
fhould  agree  with  your  obfervation  &  opinion,  we  would 
requefl  you  to  lay  the  fame  before   His  Excellency  &* 
Council  —  urging  their  immediate  attention,  as  a  great 
faving  to  the  State  &  equal  or  better  fecurity  then  the 


126  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

ufial  mode.  Who  we  make  no  doubt  will  do  all  in 
their  power  to  fill  up  the  Garrifon  at  Fort  Grifwold 
&  to  forward  the  beft  plan  of  defence,  and  to  ufe  all 
their  influance  in  the  next  General  Affembly  to  have 
fuch  Military  Laws  paffed  as  will  be  neceffary  in  alarm 
&  invafions. 

We  are  with  efteem  &  refpect, 
Sir, 

Your  mod  Hume  Serv's, 
New  London  April  22d  1782. 

G.  Saltonftall,  Thos.  Shaw, 

Timo.  Green,  John  Demon, 

Marvin  Wait,  Amafa  Larnard, 

Pember  Calkings,  Edward  Hallam, 

Wint.  Saltonftall,  Michael  Melally, 

David  Mumford,  Guy  Richards,  Junr, 

Simon  Wolcott, 
James  Angel, 
Col.  M'Clellen, 

Prefent. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  XXIL,  Doc.  339. 

New  London,   Ist  June,   1782. 
Sir: 

Since  writing  the  inclofed  have  feen  Col°  McClan- 
nan,  he  defires  me  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  the 
Troops  at  this  Poft  under  his  command  will  now  not 
make  two  Relieves,  he  is  diftreff'd  to  fupply  the  Forts 
and  Prifon  Ship. 

I  think  it  my  duty  to  inform  your  Excellency  that 
there  is  a  large  number  of  veffels  here,  &  other  inter- 
eft,  befide  the  Alliance  Frigate,  &  fcarce  any  men  to 
defend  the  Forts  at  Groton  &  this  Town,  your  Excel- 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  127 

lency  will  pleafe  excufe  the  freedom  I  take  in  giving 
fuch  information  as  [it]  refpects  the  publick  — 
I  am  with  fentiments  of  Rea[l]  Efteem, 
Your  Excellencys  very  obecT  Serv', 

Thos  Mumford. 
Superfcribed, 
Publick  Service, 

His  Excellency  Governor  Trumbull, 

Hartford. 
Indorfd. 

In  the  Lower  Houfe. 

Col.  Sage,  Col.  Ruffell  &  Majr  Hilhoufe  appointed 
to  take  into  confideration  this  Letter  &  Addrefs  of  fun- 
dry  Gentlemen  of  New  London  to  Col.  McClallen  of 
the  22d  April  ult  &  laid  before  the  Houfe,  both  refpect- 
ing  the  Defence  of  the  Pofls  of  N.  London  &  Gro- 
ton  and  what  ought  to  be  done  to  report  by  bill  or 
otherwife. 

TEST:   JEDEDIAH  STRONG,   Clerk. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxn.,  Doc.  338. 

Report  of  Committee  de  Fort  at  New  London,  May,  1 782. 

We  Your  Honours  Comtee  appointed  to  take  into 
confideration  the  reprefentation  made  by  a  number 
of  Gentlemen  from  New  London,  refpecting  the  De 
fence  of  the  Poft  at  N.  London,  &c.,  beg  leave  to  re 
port, 

That  the  Governuour  and  Council  of  Safety  be  and 
they  are  defired,  to  raife  a  fufficient  fum  out  of  ye  pro- 
vifions  on  hand  (or  loan  as  may  be)  to  pay  the  40^. 
bounty  ordered  to  the  foldiers  that  may  engage  in  the 
forts  at  N.  London  &  Groton  provided  by  act  of  Af- 


128  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

fembly  in  Jany  laft  (and  that  48  matroffes  be  raifed  in 
addition  to  the  number  already  ordered  by  act  of  Af- 
fembly,  and  that  the  fame  pay  &  bounty  be  given  them 
as  the  other  before  provided  for)  &  that  in  the  mean 
time  His  Excellency  order  fuch  numbers  of  militia  to 
man  the  Garrison  untill  a  fuitable  number  may  be  en- 
lifted,  and  that  200  Arms  be  provided  &  fent  to  the 
care  of  the  commander  at  that  Poft  for  the  ufe  of  the 
fame. 

All  which  is  fubmitted  by  your  Hume  Servts, 

Comfort  Sage, 
Edwd  Ruffel, 
In  the  Lower  Houfe. 

The  foregoing  Report  of  Committee  is  accepted 
and  approved,  fo  far  as  to  include  the  word  laft  in  the 
12th  line  of  the  Report  from  the  top,  with  addition 
(viz.,)  "  provided  faid  foldiers  do  not  live  within  fix 
miles  from  sd  Forts,"  next  after  the  word  laft  aforefaid. 
And  that  a  Bill,  &c. 

TEST  :  INCREASE   MOSELEY,  Clerk,  P.  T. 
Concurr'd  in  the  Upper  Houfe. 

TEST:  GEORGE  WYLLYS,  Secret. 


7 

ge.l 

1,    J 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  XXVIL,  Doc.  76. 

To  the  Honorable  General  Affembly  of  the  State 
of  Connecticut  to  be  holden  at  Hartford  by  fpecial 
order  of  the  Governor  the  2d  Wednefday  of  January 
A.  D.  1783.  We,  your  Hon.  Committee  appointed  at 
your  seffion  in  October  laft  to  inquire  into  the  difa- 
bilitys  of  thofe  perfons  who  were  wounded  in  the  at 
tack  of  the  Enemy  at  New  London  and  Groton  in 
Sept.  A.  D.  1781  and  remain  in  a  crippled  and  debili- 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  129 

tated  condition  and  to  ftate  their  particular  cafes  to 
the  afsembly,  beg  leave  to  Report  that  we  have  at 
tended  on  the  faid  bufmefs  and  the  cafes  of  the  faid 
wounded  &  debilitated  to  be  as  follows  :  viz.  - 

Ens"  CHARLES  ELDRIDGE  of  the  militia,  who  entered 
the  fort  a  volunteer,  was  wounded  with  a  mufket  ball 
through  the  joint  of  the  knee  and  although  after  long 
confinement  the  wound  is  clofed  up,  yet  the  knee  is  in- 
tirely  ftiff,  and  as  many  pieces  of  the  bone  have  dif- 
charged  from  the  subftance  of  the  joint,  the  limb  is 
rendered  very  weak,  and  will  doubtlefs  ever  remain  so. 

JOHN  MORGAN  3d,  a  volunteer,  wounded  in  the  fort 
with  a  mufket  ball  near  the  joint  of  the  knee,  by 
means  of  which  his  knee  is  rendered  intirely  ftiff  and 
he  much  difabled  in  walking  and  the  like  exercifes. 

JOHN  STARR  a  volunteer  wounded  in  the  fort  by  a 
mufket  ball  through  the  joint  of  the  elbow  of  his  right 
arm,  whereby  he  has  been  from  that  to  the  prefent 
time,  exercifed  with  great  pain  and  has  loft  the  ufe  of 
his  arm  by  its  being  rendered  intirely  ftiff.  Ulcers 
continue  forming  £c  to  this  time,  and  pieces  of  bone 
iffueing  out  of  the  sores,  he  is  a  man  in  low  circum- 
ftances  though  of  good  character,  has  a  wife  &  chil 
dren  which  before  he  fupported  by  his  induftry  and 
which  he  is  now  rendered  wholly  incapable  of  doing. 

Ens  JOSEPH  WOODMANSEE  a  volunteer  wounded  in 
the  fort  by  a  mufket  ball,  which  intirely  Extirpated 
his  right  Eye  and  the  upper  part  of  the  right  cheek 
and  the  ball  paffed  under  the  fhoulder  blade  which 
has  considerably  weakened  his  fhoulder. 

Capt  SOLOMAN  PERKINS  a  volunteer  wounded  in  the 
fort  with  a  mufket  ball  through  the  neck  and  arm  an 
other  through  his  fide,  and  fundry  thrufts  of  the  bay 
onet  through  the  Stomach  &c  which  has  caufed  ner- 


130  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

vous  irritations  spafams  &c  and  rendered  him  unable 
to  perform  hard  labour. 

ANDREW  GALLUP  a  foldier  belonging  to  the  garrifon 
wounded  with  a  mufket  ball  through  the  hip  &  groin 
wounding  the  main  tendon  of  the  thigh  whereby  he  is 
much  difabled  in  walking  &  like  exercifes. 

Lieu1  PARK  AVERY  a  volunteer  wounded  in  the  fort 
by  a  bayonet  taking  off  part  of  the  cranium  and  to 
tally  extirpating  his  right  eye. 

Serg*  DANIEL  ELDRIDGE  a  volunteer  wounded  in  the 
fort  with  a  mufket  ball  in  the  arm  which  entered  be 
tween  the  wrift  &  elbow  and  paffmg  nearly  parallel 
with  the  bone,  came  out  between  the  elbow  &  the 
fhoulder  whereby  his  arm  is  weakened. 

ZIBE  WOODWORTH  a  foldier  of  the  garrifon  wounded 
in  the  fort  by  a  mufket  ball  with  the  whole  charge  & 
wadds  which  went  through  his  thigh  &  fraclured  the 
bone  in  such  manner  that  a  great  part  of  the  bone 
has,  in  pieces  iflued  out,  has  much  weakened  &  ihort- 
ened  the  limb  and  it  remains  a  running  fore  on  both 
fides  until  now,  and  he  will  doubtleff  remain  a  cripple 
during  his  life  and  in  a  great  meafure  unable  to  per 
form  any  labour. 

STEPHEN  HEMPSTEAD  a  Searg'  of  the  garrifon  of  Fort 
Trumbull  was  wounded  at  Fort  Grifwold  with  a  ball 
through  the  joint  of  the  left  elbow  and  a  bayonet  in 
his  right  hip.  The  wound  in  his  hip  is  recovered  with 
no  other  difadvantage  than  a  weaknefs  and  partial  dif- 
ability  in  that  part  which  in  a  great  degree  prevents 
the  ability  of  traveling.  The  wound  in  the  elbow  was 
more  dangerous  and  has  occafioned  an  entire  ftiffnefs 
in  the  joint  whereby  he  is  rendered  incapable  of  bring 
ing  his  hand  near  his  head  or  performing  any  confider- 
able  labour  to  advantage. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  131 

EDWARD  STANTON  of  Stonington  a  volunteer  wounded 
in  the  fort  by  a  mufket  ball  &  whole  charge  which  en 
tered  at  the  pap  of  the  left  bread  and  paffed  in  an 
oblique  direction  fo  that  it  broke  three  of  his  ribs  the 
fractured  ends  of  which  were  fawed  off  and  never 
could  be  joined  to  the  parts  from  which  they  were 
feparated  and  although  the  wound  is  healed  up  Yet 
there  ftill  remains  a  weaknefs  and  tendernefs  which 
renders  him  in  a  confiderable  degree  unable  to  per 
form  hard  labour. 

JEHIEL  Juooof  Colchefter  a  corporal  in  the  company 
of  artillery  in  fort  Grifwold  was  wounded  by  a  mufket 
ball  which  entered  into  the  lower  part  of  the  knee 
joint  where  it  lay  30  days  before  it  could  be  extracted 
a  great  part  of  the  flefh  about  the  knee  and  half  way 
up  the  thigh  became  affected  and  the  fore  large  &  dif- 
treffing.  The  limb  is  fhortened  and  the  finews  much 
contracted  and  the  joint  intirely  ftiff.  Much  of  the 
bone  of  the  fubftance  of  the  joint  iffued  out,  but  the 
fore  is  at  length  healed  up,  though  he  ftill  remains  a 
cripple  and  not  likely  to  be  otherwife. 

SANFORD  WILLIAMS  a  foldier  of  the  garrifon  wounded 
in  the  fort  by  a  mufket  ball,  which  entered  the  upper 
and  about  the  middle  of  his  breaft  paffed  through  the 
right  lob  of  the  lights  and  came  out  back  of  the  arm 
where  it  joins  the  body.  The  wounds  are  healed  up 
but  a  fore  is  broke  out  under  the  arm,  near  where  the 
ball  came  out,  which  yet  remains  and  he  is  unable  to 
perform  any  confiderable  hard  labour. 

Which  is  humbly  fubmitted  by  Your 

Hon  Obd'  Humb1  Servants 

Sam1  Mott,          ) 

Elifha  Lathrop,  >  Committee. 

Rob'  Crary,         J 


132  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Alfo  WILLIAM  SEYMOUR  of  Hartford  a  volunteer  in 
the  fort  was  wounded  by  a  mufket  ball  which  entered 
into  and  paffed  through  the  joint  of  the  knee  fraftur- 
ing  &  breaking  the  bones  in  fuch  manner  as  that  the 
greateft  part  of  the  fubftance  of  the  knee  joint  fepe- 
rated  and  iffued  out.  In  this  condition  he,  for  about 
three  weeks,  fuffered  the  mofl  fevere  pain  &  diftrefs, 
when  no  other  means  could  be  thought  of  to  fave  his 
life,  amputation  was  performed  &  his  limb  taken  off 
about  halfway  between  the  knee  &  body  and  after  a 
long,  languishing  confinement  he  is  reftored  to  a  con- 
fcderable  degree  of  health,  though  wholly  difabled  from 
performing  any  confiderable  exercifes  or  following  anj 
confidcrable  bufmefs. 

Which  is  humbly  submitted  by, 

Elifha  Lathrop } 

~        ,  A/T    ,  '    >  Committee. 

Sam1  Mott,         j 

The  men  mentioned  in  the  above  report  were 
granted  pensions  varying  from  ,£3  to  ^"20  per  annum. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxvii.,  Doc.  78. 

To  the  Honorable  Gen1.  Affembly  now  sitting  at 
Hartford.  May  seffion  1 783. 

We  the  fubfcribers  being  by  the  Hon.  Gen1.  Affem 
bly  in  October  laft  appointed  a  committee  to  enquire 
into  the  Difability  of  thofe  perfons  who  were  wounded 
by  the  enemy  at  New  London  &  Groton  in  Sept.  1781 
&  to  state  their  particular  cafes  to  the  Gen1.  Affembly 
did  attend  to  that  bufmefs  and  made  our  report  of  a 
number  of  thofe  wounded  &  difabled  to  the  Gen1.  Af- 
sembly  in  January  laft  which  report  was  accepted  and 
an  order  paffed  thereon  together  with  directions  that 
we  fhould  proceed  further  to  examine  and  ftate  the  cafes 


Front  the  Connecticut  Archives.  133 

of  any  such  wounded  &  crippled  who  might  have  been 
omitted  in  the  firft  report,  we  therefore  beg  leave  far 
ther  to  report  that 

DANIEL  STANTON  Junr.  of  Stonington  hearing  the 
firing  at  New  London  and  concluding  it  to  be  attacked 
by  the  enemy  mounted  his  horfe  &  rode  full  speed 
eleven  miles  to  fort  Grifwold  &  entered  &  made  him- 
felf  a  volunteer  in  defence  of  the  fort.  In  the  action 
he  received  twenty  one  wounds  in  the  head,  body,  & 
limbs  with  ball  &  bayonet  of  all  which  he  is  fully  re 
covered  except  one  where  a  mufket  ball  entered  be 
tween  the  ancle  bone  &  the  heel  of  the  foot  came  out 
near  the  ball  of  the  foot  at  the  root  of  the  great  toe, 
difabled  &  contracted  the  main  cord  of  the  heel  and 
other  cords  &  tendons  on  the  inficle  of  the  foot  which 
has  drop'd  the  great  toe  and  dravv'd  it  under  the  foot 
by  which  means  he  is  difabled  from  travelling  or  any 
active  bufinefs  of  that  kind.  And  we  further  bear  leave 

O 

to  report  it  as  our  opinion  that  according  to  the  rules 
adopted  by  the  affembly  in  the  cafe  of  the  other  crip 
ples,  he  ought  to  receive  from  the  public,  during  the 
continuance  of  his  difability  the  sum  of  fix  pounds  a 
year  as  an  annual  ftipind  the  fame  to  commence  from 
the  time  of  his  receiving  his  wound.  All  which  is 
fubmitted  to  Your  Honr".  by 

Your  moft  obedient  &  very  humble  fervants 

Sam1.  Mott, 


.-.  f  Committee. 

Rob'.  Crary, 

In  the  Lower  Houfe. 

The  foregoing  report  of  committee  is  accepted  & 
approved  &  a  bill  in  form  ordered  to  be  brought  in  ac 
cordingly. 

TEST:  INCREASE  MOSELEY,  Clerk. 

Concur*,  in  the  Upper  Houfe. 

TEST  :  GEORGE  WYLLYS,  Secty. 


134  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxvi.,  Doc.  288,  294,  295. 

MARY  ALLEN,  widow  of  Captain  Samuel  Allen,1  was 
left  with  six  children  under  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
a  small  real  and  personal  estate. 

LUCY  WHITTLESEY,  widow  of  John  Whittlesey,  New 
London,  tailor,  was  left  with  one  child  about  three 
years  old,  no  estate,  and  no  friends  to  help  her. 

*  *  BOLTON,  widow    of  William,  of    New  London, 
was  left  with  seven  children  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  and  no  estate. 

ESTHER  CHAPMAN,  widow  of  Lieutenant  Richard 
Chapman,  of  New  London,  was  left  with  five  children 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  ;  had  real  and  per 
sonal  estate  to  the  amount  of  about  ^300. 

THEODA  WILLIAMS,  widow  of  Captain  John  Williams, 
Jr.,  was  left  with  eight  children  under  ye  age  of  seven 
teen  years,  and  about  ^70  real  and  personal  estate. 

SARAH  STEDMAN,  widow  of  John  Stedman,  weaver, 
was  left  with  seven  children  under  the  age  of  thirteen 
years  ;  no  estate  ;  maintained  his  family  by  his  hands. 

PRUDENCE  AVERY,  widow  of  Captain  Elijah  Avery, 
was  left  with  three  children  under  the  age  of  sixteen 

o 

years  ;   had  a  good  landed  estate  ;  personal  estate  suf 
fered  by  the  enemy. 

*  *  COMSTOCK,  widow  of  James,  of  New  London,  a 
woman  about  sixty  years  old,  and  no  estate ;  he  always 
repaired  to  the  fort  in  every  alarm. 

MARGARET  PERKINS,  widow  of  Luke  Perkins,  was  left 
with  one  child  and  no  estate.2 

1  Allyn. 

2  This,  I  think,  must  be  Luke  Perkins,  Jr.,  as   I   find  on  the   Probate 
Records  Abigail   Perkins,  administratrix  on  estate  of  Luke  Perkins  j  es 
tate  valued,  ,£302. 


From  the  Connecticut  Arc/lives.  135 

SARAH  WALWORTH,  widow  of  Sylvester  Walworth, 
weaver,  was  left  with  eight  children  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  ;  had  a  small  real  estate ;  no  personal 
estate  more  than  to  pay  the  debts. 

ANNA  BABCOCK,  widow  of  John  Prentice  Babcock, 
clothier,  was  left  with  two  small  children  and  a  small 
real  estate,  not  much  more  than  to  pay  the  debt. 

ANNA  LEDYARD,  widow  of  Colonel  William  Led- 
yard,  was  left  with  five  children  under  the  age  of  twen 
ty-one  ;  has  a  considerable  estate,  chiefly  in  public  se 
curities. 

BRIDGET  LEDYARD,  widow  of  Le'  Young"  Ledyard, 
was  left  with  four  children  under  the  age  of  nine  years; 
no  estate,  but  a  small  house  lot ;  the  house  burnt,  and 
what  was  in  it. 

ELIZABETH  MUCKSLEY,  widow  of  Joseph  Mucksley; ' 
was  a  house  carpenter ;  was  killed  6th  September,  &c. 
&c. ;  was  left  with  four  children  under  the  age  of  twen 
ty-one  ;  had  no  real  estate  nor  any  personal  estate  ; 
she  has  had  much  sickness,  £c. 

DEBORAH  LEWIS,  widow  of  Joseph  Lewis ;  was  killed 
6th  September ;  was  left  with  a  small  real  estate  ;  was 
a  blacksmith,  had  eight  children  under  the  age  of 
nineteen,  and  chiefly  depended  on  his  trade  for  sup 
port. 

SARAH  BURROWS,  widow  of  Captain  Hubbard  Bur 
rows,2  was  left  with  ten  children  under  the  age  of  sev 
enteen  ;  he  had  a  small  estate  represented  insolvent, 
and  but  little  could  be  set  out  to  the  widow. 

MARY  BAKER,  widow  of  Andrew  Baker,  a  shoemaker, 
was  left  with  one  young  child  and  no  estate. 


1  Moxley. 

a  This  name  is  Hobart  Burrows  on  the  Probate  Records. 


136  Battle  of  Grolon  Heights. 

SARAH  WOODBRIDGE,  widow  of  Christopher  Wood- 
bridge,  house-carpenter,  was  left  with  two  small  chil 
dren  and  no  estate. 

ELIZABETH  SEBERY,  widow  of  David  Sebery,  ship- 
carpenter,  was  left  with  five  children  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one;  no  estate;  the  house  she  lived  in  burnt, 
and  everything  except  what  they  had  on. 

DEBORAH  AVERY,  widow  of  Daniel  Avery,  was  left 
with  eight  children  under  the  age  of  fourteen  years  ; 
has  about  ^600  of  real  and  personal  estate,  with  an 
incumbrance  of  about  50.5-  a  year  for  a  widow's  third. 

MARY  COVELL,  widow  of  Philip  Covell,  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  about  ^40  of  estate. 

MARCY  WILLIAMS,  of  Stonington,  widow  of  Thomas 
Williams,  is  a  woman  in  her  sixty-third  year ;  the  es 
tate  insolvent,  so  that  she  receives  little  or  no  benefit 
from  it. 

ELIZABETH  BALEY,  widow  of  Ezekiel  Baley,  black 
smith,  was  left  with  six  children  under  the  age  of  twen 
ty-one  years  ;  suppose  there  will  be  about  ^"100  when 
the  debts  are  paid  of  real  and  personal  estate. 

THANKFUL  STANTON,  widow  of  Captain  Amos  Stan- 
ton,  was  left  with  seven  children  under  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  and  the  estate  left  is  about  .£200  in  sol 
diers'  notes  and  state  securities. 

ELIZABETH  CLARK,  of  New  London,  widow  of  John 
Clark,  cooper,  was  left  with  four  children  under  eight 
years,  and  no  estate. 

MARTHA  HOLT,  widow  of  John  Holt,  Jr.  of  New 
London,  ship  joiner,  was  left  with  three  children  under 
the  age  of  ten  years  ;  not  more  estate  than  to  pay 
the  debts. 

MARY  BILLINGS,  widow  of  Samuel  Billings,  shoe 
maker,  was  left  about  fifty  years  old ;  left  with  fifteen 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  137 

or  sixteen  acres  of  poor  land  with  a  small  house  upon 
it,  and  no  other  estate. 

REBECCA  MINER,  widow  of  Thomas  Miner,  ship-car 
penter,  &c.,  was  left  with  three  small  children  and  a 
small  personal  estate  and  in  debt. 

ESTHER  Hill,  widow  of  Samuel  Hill,  was  left  with 
five  children  under  the  age  of  twelve  years  ;  had  no 
estate  ;  was  supplied  by  his  labor. 

HANNAH  MILLS,  widow  of  Edward  Mills,  was  left 
with  five  children  under  the  age  of  nine  years  and  no 
estate. 

UNICE  WILLIAMS,  widow  of  Lieutenant  Henry  Wil 
liams,  Jr.,  left  with  three  children  under  eight  years; 
a  small  matter  of  personal  estate. 

ELIZABETH  PERKINS,  widow  of  Asa  Perkins,  was  left 
with  four  children  under  the  age  of  seven  years ;  her 
husband  left  a  house  and  fifty  acres  of  land ;  no  mov 
able  estate  left  more  than  to  pay  the  debts. 

ELIZABETH  ADAMS,  widow  of  Nathaniel  Adams,  a 
cloather,  was  left  with  five  children  under  the  age  of 
eleven  years ;  a  small  house  and  a  small  piece  of  rocky 
land  under  no  improvement  nor  worth  improving ; 
lived  wholly  by  his  trade. 

HANNAH  HALLABARD,  widow  of  Rufus  Hallebard,1 
was  left  with  eight  children  under  the  age  of  fourteen 
years.  Left  real  estate;  rents  for  £16  a  year,  half  of 
which  to  his  mother-in-law  during  life,  and  the  estate 
in  debt  about  ^70  more  than  the  personal  estate  will 
pay. 

DORITHY  LESTER,  widow  of  Jon"111  Lester,2  left  with 
one  child  fourteen  years  old  and  considerable  personal 
estate. 

1  Kufus  Hurlbut.  >  Probably  John  Lester. 


138  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

NICHOLAS  STARR  was  killed  in  Fort  Grisvvold  ;  his 
widow 1  died  soon  after  with  a  fever,  and  left  four  chil 
dren,  the  oldest  about  eight  years,  the  youngest  about 
two,  and  about  estate  enough  to  pay  his  debts. 

PHEBE  AVERY,  widow  of  Lieutenant  Ebenezer  Avery, 
was  left  with  six  children  under  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years ;  he  left  a  large  real  estate  and  some  personal  es 
tate  under  the  incumbrance  of  an  aged  woman's  sup 
port  with  some  other  incumbrances  to  a  considerable 
amount,  also  a  debt  of  about  ,£70. 

SUSSANNAH  SHOLES,  widow  of  Nathan  Sholes,  was 
left  with  two  small  children  and  no  estate. 

JURUSHA  LEEDS,  widow  of  Captain  Gary  Leeds,  was 
left  with  six  children  under  eight  years,  and  no  estate. 
Captain  Leeds  was  wounded  in  the  fort,  of  which  he 
never  recovered  of,  took  cold  and  flung  him  into  a 
fever  of  which  he  died. 

ESTHER  JONES,  widow  of  Moses  Jones,  was  left  with 
two  small  children,  and  no  estate. 

ABIGAIL  PALMER,  widow  of  'David  Palmer,  was  left 
with  two  small  children ;  a  large  real  estate  under  a  life 
lease  to  her  father-in-law  and  no  personal  estate. 

WAITY  STANTON,  widow  of  Lieutenant  Enoch  Stan- 
ton,  of  Stonington,  was  left  with  seven  children  under 
the  age  of  fifteen  years;  one  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land 
with  a  dwelling  house,  no  personal  estate  more  than 
enough  to  pay  the  debts;  a  goldsmith  and  depended 
upon  his  trade  to  support  his  family. 

All  the  widows  and  families  that  are  not  described  to 
be  of  any  town  belong  to  the  town  of  Groton. 

1  Hannah  Starr,  from  Probate  RecorJs. 


Froty'the  Connecticut  Archives.  139 

All  of  which  doings  is  submitted  to  your  honors  by 
your  most  obedient 

Humble  servants 

Ch.  Phelps,          ) 

—       ,  >  Committee. 

James  Gordon,    j 

GROTON,  Aug.  25,  1783. 

I  have  collected  the  following  list  of  widows  and 
children  not  mentioned  in  the  above  report :  * 

CATHARINE  (MUMFORD)  RICHARDS,  widow  of  Captain 
Peter  Richards,  and  one  child  Catharine. 

ELIZABETH  MOORE,  widow  of  Captain  Nathan  Moore. 

ESTHER  ALLYN,  widow  of  Captain  Simeon  Allyn. 

MICHAEL  WOODBRIDGE,  widow  of  Henry  Wood- 
bridge,  left  with  two  small  children,  David  and  Han- 

O      * 

nah. 

LYDIA  (LORD)  AVERY,  widow  of  David  Avery. 

MARY  (HARRIS)  SHAPLEY,  widow  of  Adam  Shapley, 
left  with  four  children  :  Mary,  Joseph,  Abigail,  and 
Benjamin.  The  eldest,  Daniel,  died  on  the  prison 
ship  in  New  York  in  November. 

ELIZABETH  AVERY,  widow  of  Jasper  Avery. 

EXPERIENCE  WARD,  widow  of  Patrick  Ward. 

ABIGAIL  PERKINS,  widow  of  Luke  Perkins. 

SARAH  PERKINS,  widow  of  Elisha  Perkins. 

1  The  official  report  only  includes  minor  or  dependent  children.  Many 
of  these  families  had  children  over  twenty-one,  or  married.  —  A. 


140  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxiv.,  Doc.  389. 

Upon  ye  memorial  of  Dan1  Judd  of  Colchefter 
mowing  to  this  affembly  that  his  fon  Jehial  Judd  was 
an  inlifted  foldier  in  the  State  Service  in  Fort  Grif- 
wold  on  ye  6th  Day  of  Sept  1781,  when  &  where  he 
was  grievoufly  wounded  &  that  by  ye  advice  of  Doc' 
•Turner  he  removed  his  sd  son  to  his  own  houfe  where 
he  boarded  &  nurfed  his  sd  son  until  &  after  ye  firft 
of  April  1782:  that  ye  Comittee  of  Pay-table  liqui 
dated  &  settled  his  ace8  until  sd  firft  of  April  1782  & 
no  longer  having  no  orders  to  fettle  any  accounts  that 
have  arifen  fince  that  time  by  reafon  of  wounds  recd  in 
sd  action,  that  fince  sd  firft  of  April  1782  he  has  been 
at  expenfe  in  boarding  nurfing,  and  tending  sd  fon  & 
for  sd  Doct  bill  ye  fum  of  ,£8-15  s.-o,  Lawful  money 
as  sd  acct  produced  for  which  he  has  recd  no  reward 
Praying  relief  &c  :  As  sd  memorial  on  file 

Refolved  by  this  Affembly  that  ye  comtee  of  Paytable 
be  (&  they  are  hereby)  ordered  to  receive  liquidate  & 
fettle  sd  ace'  in  ye  same  manner  as  y"  ace',  before  sd 
firft  of  April  1782  was  fettled  &  draw  order  on*  y* 
Treafr  for  ye  same 

Paffed  in  the  Lower  House 

(May  1783.) 

TEST  :  INCREASE  MOSELEY,  Clk. 

Concurd  in  the  Upper  Houfe 

TEST  :  GEORGE  WYLLYS,  Sect. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  141 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxiv.,  Doc.   143. 

To  the  Hon.  Gen1  Affcmbly,  State  of  Connecticut^  now 
fitting  at  Hartford  within  said  state. 

October  Seffion,  1782. 

The  Memorial  of  the  officers  &  men  of  the  two  com 
panies  ftationd  at  Forts  Trumbull  and  Grifwold,  hum 
bly  fheweth  — 

That  agreeable  to  their  engagements  they  ferved  for 
the  year  1781.  That  many  of  them  had  before  that 
term  had  done  duty  at  s'1  Forts :  That  their  pay  had 
been  made  in  Pay  Table  orders  &  State  Connecticut 
bills,  which  fell  very  fhort  of  real  money.  Though 
they  fpeak  good  money,  yet  they  carry  not  equal  credit 
with  the  people  of  the  country :  for  they  neither  will 
make  paynV  of  debts  due  from  your  memorialifts,  or 
procure  the  neceffaries  of  life  unles  put  off  at  much 
leff  value  than  they  expreff  The  above  obfervations, 
Hope  may  not  be  conftrued  as  any  difhonorable  re 
flection  upon  Government,  as  we  fincerely  &  feelingly 
lament  their  falling  fo  far  fhort  of  the  firft  intended 
worth,  and  would  only  fuggeft  that  when  a  difease  is 
known,  exertions  ought  to  be  made  to  apply  a  fuitable 
remedy,  and  fpeedy  Your  Memorialifts  beg  that  for 
their  fervices  year  1781  your  Hons  would  be  pleafed 
to  Devife  and  Direct  a  mode  of  pay  that  may  be  equal 
to  real  money,  that  their  expectations  may  be  anfwered 
and  made  equal  to  their  engagements.  Your  Memo 
rialifts  would  further  fay  that  motives,  from  great  loll 
on  their  part,  the  diftreffed  fituation  of  many  who  have 
ferved  with  us  now  labouring  under  great  debilitation 
of  body  by  fickneff  wounds  &c  together  with  diftreffed 
circumftances  of  the  widows  &  children  of  thofe  who 
fell  a  facrifice  to  Britifh  cruelty  on  the  fatal  6th  day  of 


142  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

September  1781  flimulates  to  beg  the  early  attention 
of  your  Honors  to  the  matter  of  our  prayer 

Your  refolves  of  May  1781  relative  to  the  Horfe- 
neck  Guard  conceive,  applies  to  your  Memorialifts, 
which  gave  the  fame  pay  &  rations  with  the  Continen 
tal  Army,  which  we  wifh  to  have  complied  with.  And 
will  only  fay  that  were  your  Hons  fully  acquainted  with 
the  distreffes  of  many  above  referd  occafion'd  by  the 
horrid  maffacre  of  the  garrifon  of  Fort  Grifvvold 
'Twould  moft  affuredly  excite  the  higheft  commifera- 
tion  &  caufe  to  decree  (if  nothing  more)  that  they 
have  their  jufl  due  from  the  public,  &  that  without 
loff.  Submitting  the  whole  to  the  wife  determination 
of  your  Honors  your  Memorialifts  as  in  duty  bound 
fhall  ever  pray 

William  Latham'  Captain 
Jabez  Stow,  Lieu' 
Obadh  Perkins,  Lieu' 
in  Behalf  of  faid  Officers  &  Men 

Col  Samuel  M'Claning  commander  of  the  poft  & 
fortrefs  at  New  London,  in  behalf  of  himfelf  &  other 
officers  &  foldiers  ferving  at  sd  poft  under  his  command 
not  immediately  included  in  the  foregoing  memorial, 
pray  the  Hon.  General  Affembly  to  take  into  confeder 
ation  their  cafe,  Requefting  their  wages  for  their  fer- 
vices  at  sd  post  of  New  London  &  Groton  then  the 
same  reward  for  their  fervices  as  prayd  for  in  the  fore 
going  memorial  or  in  fome  other  way  grant  them  re 
lief  as  your  Hon's  in  your  wifdom  fhall  judge  juft  & 
reafonable  Dated  at  Hartford  the  1 5th  day  of  January 
A.  D.  1783 

Sam1  McClellan 
for  himfelf  &  the  regiment  concerned 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  143 

In  the  Lower  Houfe 

Col.  Throop,  Col.  St.  John,  &  Mr  Pettibone  are  ap 
pointed  a  Committee  to  take  the  within  Mem1  into 
Confideration  make  Enquiry  what  has  been  done  in 
favor  of  the  Memorialifts  &  what  is  neceffary  further 
to  be  done  &  report  make  by  bill  or  otherwife 

TEST:  S.   M.  MITCHELL,  Clerk. 
Concurrd  in  the  Upper  House 

TEST:  GEORGE  WYLLYS,  Secty. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxu.,  Doc.   198. 

We  your  Honors  Committee,  appointed  to  take  into 
Confideration  the  mem1  of  Adam  Shapel(e)y  and  Wil 
liam  Latham  in  behalf  of  themfelves  and  the  reft  of 
the  Surviving  officers  and  Soldiers  belonging  to  the 
Garrifons  of  Fort  Trumbull  &  Fort  Grifworld,  having 
enquired  into  the  Matter  therein  Reprefented,  beg  leave 
to  report,  that  we  find  that  Cap'  Adam  Shaply  was 
dangeroufly  wounded  but  not  Captivated,  that  Cap' 
William  Latham,  Lieu'  Jabez  Stow,  Jonathan  Minor, 
Jeremiah  Harding,  Jofiah  Smith,  Isaac  Rowley.  Reu 
ben  Bufhnell,  Levi  Dart  &  Kilburn  were 

wounded  &  carryed  Prifoners  to  New  York  and  were 
Plundered  of  their  Cloaths,  Buckels  &c  that  Lieu' 
Stow  was  Robed  of  about  Seven  pounds  in  hard 
Money,  that  he  afterwards  Borrowed  of  Some  Friends 
in  New  York  about  forty  Dollars,  with  which  he  pro 
vided  Some  Small  Cloathing  for  himfelf  &  the  other 
prifoners,  and  to  procure  a  Subfiftance  for  them,  and 
one  Dollar  he  gave  to  Each  private  Soldier,  to  Sup 
port  them  on  their  way  home  from  New  Jerfey  where 
they  were  Landed  on  their  Exchange,  &  that  during 


144  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

their  Captivity,  they  Endured  great  Hardfhip,  where 
upon  we  beg  leave  to  Submitted  it  to  Your  Honors 
as  our  Opinion  that  Liu'  Stow  ought  to  be  paid  the 
Said  Sum  of  forty  Dollars  and  alfo  ,£6-0-0  for  the 
money  that  was  plundered  from  him  and  that  the  Com 
mittee  of  Pay  Table  Ought  to  be  Impowered  to  Settle 
and  adjuft  their  Accounts  for  the  Loff  of  Cloathing, 
Side-arms  &c  as  they  have  done  in  Similar  Cafes ;  and 
as  an  acknowledgement  of  their  Bravery  and  Suffer 
ings,  a  Gratuity  of  an  Honorary  Medal  of  Silver  plate 
ought  to  be  prefented  to  the  faid  Cap'.  Shaply,  Cap'. 
Latham,  and  Liu'  Stow  by  this  State,  Each  of  the  Big- 
neff  or  fize  of  two  Inch  and  a  half  Square  or  Equaled 
in  any  other  figure  with  Sutable  Emblems  Engraved 
thereon,  and  that  a  like  medal  of  half  that  bigneff  with 
the  Emblem  of  a  Fort  Engraved  thereon,  be  prefented 
to  Each  of  the  private  Soldiers  aforefaid,  the  whole 
Expence  of  faid  Medals  to  be  paid  out  of  the  avails  of 
Confifcatecl  Eftates,  as  foon  as  the  Treafurey  (hall  be 
Supplyed  with  Money  arifing  out  of  faid  Eftates,  & 
that  the  Same  be  procured  by  the  Governor  &  his 
Council  of  Safty. 

all  which  is  Submitted  by  your  Honors  Hum1  Se', 

Jn"  Canfield  ] 

Joseph  P.  Cooke  V  Corn'" 
Hezh  Hubbell       J 

In  the  Lower  Houfe 

the  foregoing  Report  accepted  &  approved  fo  far  as 
it  relates  to  the  payment  of  forty  Dollars  borrowed  by 
&  twenty  Dollars  plundered  of  Lieu'  Stow  &  ye  ad- 
juftment  of  the  Acc's  of  Loffes  of  Cloathing  &c  by  the 
Com'ee  of  pay  Table  &  that  a  Bill  in  form  be  bro't  in 

thereon  &c 

TEST:  S.  M.  MITCHELL,   Clerk  P.  T. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.          •    145 

Concurd  in  the  Upper  House 

TEST  :  GEORGE  WYLLYS,  Sect. 
Report  of  Comtee  on  Mem1  of  Cap'  Shapley  Jan.  1782. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxv.,  Doc.   191. 

HARTFORD.  FeVy  &*.  1782. 

This  may  certify  that  Horatio  Wales  went  into  Fort 
Grifworld  as  a  volunteer  on  the  6th  day  of  Sept.  1781, 
and  was  in  the  fort  when  it  was  taken  by  the  Enemy. 

WM.  LATHAM  Capt  Artil*. 

HARTFORD  February  20'*.  1782. 

Recd.  an  order  on  Treafurer  for  fix  pounds  three 
fhillings  on  the  f.  Tax  in  full  of  the  above  Acco'.1 

HORATIO  WALES. 
The  above  acco'.  fworn  to. 

Certified. 

FINN  WADSWORTH  Com/". 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxv.,  Doc.  214. 

State  of  Connecticut  to  Simon  Wolcott,  Dr. 

To  Vifiting,  Attend"  &  Dreffmg  Adam  Shap 
ley  Efq.  from  Sept.  8,  1781  to  Nov.  Ist  —  53 
Days  ©  6'-  pr  Day     .     .         .         .         .     .£15.  18.  o 

To  Ditto  for  D°  from  Nov.  ist  to  Feby-  15th- 

1782,    One    Hundred    &    Seven  Days  @  4*'      21.  8.0 

To  Sundry  Medicines  for  D°-     .         .         .  10.  o 


NEW  LONDON,  24'*  Feby.  1782  £,""!'  16.  O 

Errors  Excepted, 
SIMON  WOLCOTT. 


1  This  was  a  claim  for  goods  and  wearing  apparel  stripped  from  him 
by  the  enemy  and  was  allowed  by  a  committee.  —  A. 
10 


146  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

State  of  Connecticut  to  Simon  Wolcott,  Dr. 

To  Visiting,  Attend!ng  &  Dreffing  Elijah 
Richards  who  was  wounded  at  New  Lon 
don  Sept.  6"'  1781  Twelve  Days  from  Sept. 
8th  ®  5s £z-  o.  o 


NEW  LONDON,  24th  Feb.  1782  37-   l6.  O 

Errors  Excepted, 
SIMON  WOLCOTT.  ^"40.  1 6.  O  ] 

Endorfed  as  follows  : 

I  vifited  &  Dreffed  Cap'.  Shapley  Twice  pr  Day 
about  half  the  time  included  in  the  within  Ace1. 

SIMON  WOLCOTT. 

Rec'v'd  Hartford  March  4th  1782  of  Pay  Table 
Comtee.  their  order  on  Treaf.  for  Forty  Pounds  Six 
teen  Shillings  Lawfull  Money  out  of  the  Tax  of  f  on 
the  Pound  in  full  of  the  within  Account. 

SIMON  WOLCOTT, 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xxiv.,  Doc.  380. 

To  the  Honabl.  General  Affembly  of  tlie  state  of  Con 
necticut  now  setting  at  Hartford. 

The  memorial  of  John  Demon  of  New  London 
fheweth  that  your  memorialift  had  in  his  poffeffion  a 
quantity  of  gun  powder  on  the  6'h  of  Sept  1781  &  while 
the  Enemie  were  landed  on  New  London  fide  Col. 
Will'".  Ledyard  aplied  to  Mr.  John  Holt  who  was  then 
ftorekeeper  to  your  honors  memorialift,  for  the  said 


Equal  to  $136.  —  A. 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  147 

powder  for  the  defence  of  Fort  Grifwold,  whereupon 
the  faid  Mr.  Holt  delivered  the  powder  &  went  with 
the  fame  to  the  faid  Fort  and  was  there  flain  - 

Your  Honors  memorialift  has  aplyed  to  Col.  Me- 
Clanan  for  the  faid  powder  or  an  equal  quantity,  which 
he  refufes  to  do  unlefs  an  order  from  his  Excelency 
the  Governor  or  this  affembly  is  produced,  your  memo 
rialift  prays  your  Honors  to  give  orders  for  the  payment 
for  the  fd  powder  or  in  fome  other  way  to  grant  relief 
as  your  Hons.  in  your  wifdom  fhall  Judge  fit  &  your 
Petitioner  as  in  duty  bound  ihall  ever  pray 

DATE  HARTFORD,  May  14,  1783. 
JOHN  DESHON.1 


APPROPRIATIONS 

TO  THE  NEW   LONDON   AND    GROTON   SUFFERERS,   ALSO    IN 
CLUDING  VARIOUS   OTHER   TOWNS   OF   CONNECTICUT. 

GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  May  Session,  A.  D.  1792. 

EXTRACT  FROM  VOL.  iv.,  STATE  RECORDS. 
Resolved,  by  this  Assembly,  That  there  be  and  there 
hereby  is,  released  &  quit  claimed  to  the  sufferers  here 
after  named,  or  their  legal  representatives  where  they 
are  dead  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  Five 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  the  lands  belonging  to  this 
State,  lying  west  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and 
bounded  northerly  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie  .... 
to  be  divided  to  and  among  the  said  sufferers  and 
their  legal  representatives  where  they  are  dead  in  pro 
portion  to  the  several  sums  annexed  to  their  names  as 
follows  :  — 

1  He  was  granted  900  Ihs.  powder,  out  of  State  stores.  —  A. 


[48  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

(Here  follow  the  names  of  the  sufferers  at  Greenwich,  Norwalk,  Fair- 
field,  Danbury,  New  Haven,  and  East  Haven,  New  London,  Groton,  and 
Ridgefield.) 

LOSSES  OF  NEW   LONDON    SUFFERERS    BY  THE    RAV 
AGES   OF   THE   BRITISH   ARMY. 

£         *         d. 

Phillip  Allen       ...  9     15       5  2 

James  Angell  .         .         .         .         .          169 


2 


John  Barr    ......  71      n       4 

Stephen  Babcock     .         .         .         .  34       9        i? 

John  Barna           .....  84       6        7^ 

Nathan  Bailey           .                  .         .  20       3     io£ 

Lydia  Beebe        .         .         .         .         .  24       5       o 

Abigail  Bell     .....  6119 

Joanna  Beebe      .         .         .         .         .  236       2       6 

Hannah   Beebe        .         .         .         .  6     18       9 

Walter  Beebe      .....  989 

Elizabeth   Beebe      .         .         .         .  16       6       o 

Samuel  Belden     .         .         .         .         .  1,771      15       6 

Percy  Been      .         .         .         .         .  6172 

William  Brooks  .....  65      1  1        6\ 

Samuel   Brown         ....  493       7 

Jeremiah  Brown           .         .         .  124       9       5-5 

Hannah  Bolton        ....  32        i      10^ 

Thomas  Bowhay          .         .         .         .  49     1  7        i 

Ann  Bulkley  .....  493     14     113 

David  Byrne       .         .         .         .         .  336       4       7 

Richard  Chapman   ....  73        i        6i 

Ludwick  Champlin    .         .         .          .  n        9     10 

Joseph  Champlin    .         .          .         .  72119 

Isaac  Champlin  .         .         .          .  142       3       2 

John  Champlin        .         .         .         .  104       8       5 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  149 

John  Clark  &  Sons    .         .         .  135  6  5 

John  Critchett         .         .         .          .  665! 

Elizabeth  Christophers       .         .         .  49  4  6 

Joseph  Coit 1,298  18  5 

William  Coit       .         .         .         .         .       44  17  10 

Thomas  Coit  .         .         .         .         .  23  13  4 

Nathaniel  Coit,  Jr                .         .         .  15  15  10 

Joshua  Coit     .....  40  o  o 

Samuel  Coit 19  8  6 

Joseph  Cocks           ....  i  5  3 

William  Comstock      .         .          .         .  3  16  o 

Jonathan  Colefax    .         .         .         .  15  n  3 

John  Crocker      .         .         .         .         .  34  13  2 

Joseph  Collins         .         .         .         .  41  o  8| 

John  Coster        .         .          .         .         .  14  9  o 

Cornelius  Cunningham   .         .         .  62  14  j\ 

Joanna  Culver    .         .         .          .         .  10  15  o 

Esther  Cutler          ....  700 
James  Culver      .....891 

Stephen  Culver       .         .         .         .  3  16  o 

Rebecca  Church          .         .         .         .  52  u  10 

Joseph  Chuls           .         .         .         .  75  n  6 

Sarah  Davis 800 

Peter  Darrow           .         .         .         .  10  o  o 

Nicholas  Darrow         .         .         .         .  9122 

James  Darrow         ....  2  3  7 

John  Deshon      .         .         .          .         .  1,177  6  2 

Deshon  &  Co 556  10  o 

Henry  Deshon 900  o  2 

Joseph  Deshon        .         .         .         .  100  i  o 

Richard  Deshon         ....  266  19  8 

Jonathan  Douglass           .         .         .  1,446  14  7 

Richd  Douglass 262  18  6 


150  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Robert  Douglass     ....  200       o       o 

Ebenezer  Douglass     .         .         .  .1794 

Nathan  Douglass    ....  941      n        9 

Sper  Douglass    .         .         .         .  .         8      15        7 

Wedon  Dorsett       ....  200 

Nathaniel  Dickenson           .         .  .1510 

Timothy  Durfey  .  .  .  .  20  14  o 
Monsieur  Dumont  ....  263  10  8 

Clark  Elliott    .....         296     1 1        3 

Abigail  Elliot 496     13      10 

Sarah  Edmunds       ....  20       2        6 

Jacob  Finch  .  .  .  .  .  130  8  10 
Ann  Fosdick  &  Sons  .  .  .  1,045  IO  XI 

Thomas  Gardner         .         .         .  22       2       o 

Mary  Gardner  .  .  .  .  123  1 6  o 
David  Gardner  .  .  .  .  .  1 1  o  o 
Lydia  Green  .  .  .  .  .  12  16  o 

Elizabeth  Griffin  ....500 
Roger  Gibson  ....  884  18  6\ 

George  Gibbs .21        70 

Mathew  Griswold    .         .         .         .  10       o       o 

Ebenezer  Goddard  .  ...700 
John  Gordon  .  .  .  .  .  i  16  3 

Mary  Goodfaith  .         .         .         .         .1500 

Ruth  Harris 63       o       o 

Thomas  Hancock  .  .  .  .  148  7  5 
Ann  Hancock  ....  140  3  6 
Joseph  Harris,  Jr  .  .  .  .  5150 
Walter  Harris  .  .  .  .  17  15  10 

Daniel  Harris      .....560 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  151 

John  Hall  am  and  Benjn  Harris    .         .     300  o       o 

Nathaniel  Hawes      ....             3  5       o 

Sarah   Hawes      .         .         .         .               177  7       5 
John  Hawes,  2ond      .         .         .         .           33111 

Lydia  Hawes       .         .         .         .         .       60  3      1 1 

Bridget  Hawes        .         .         .         .           24  19       o 

John  Hawes,  Ist            .         .         .         .         o  u        i 

Grace  Hawes  .....           29  o       o 

Eliphalet  Hawes         .         .         .         .       20  12       5 

Benj"  Hawes 19  9       5 

Edward  and  John  Hallam  .         .         .     310  9       8 

Edward  and  George  Hallam    .         .         215  o       o 
Edward  Hallam            .         .         .         .10160 

John  Hallam    .         .         .         .         .         417  10       o 

John  Hartle         .         .         .         .         .       44  19       4 

James  McEvers  Haas      .         .         .         600  o       o 

Joshua  Hempstead      .         .         .         .       62  15       3 

John  Hempstead  and  others    .         .           30  18       o 

Nath1  Hempsted          .         .         .         .         7  i      10 

Stephen  Hempsted          ...            70  6        i 
William  Higgins         .         .         .         .         4110 

Russell  Hubbard    .         .         ...  1,012  o       3 

Joseph  Hurlburt         ....      965  8       3 

Mary  Hurlburt        .         .         .         .          212  13       o 

Daniel  Hurlburt         .         .         .         .       126  14       7 

Titus  Hurlburt       .         .         .         .        1,961  30 

Thomas  Hopkins      .         .         .         .       198  17       9 

Elizabeth  Hollesvvorth  ...             46  8       o 

Stephen  Holt    .         .         .         .         .       229  5       2 

Abigail  Holt           .         .         .         .              18  n        2 

Joseph  Holt       .         .         .         .         .           2  13       o 

Thomas  Holt 4187 

James  Holt        .         .         .         .         .         25  18       6 
Ebenezer  Holt      .         .         .         .         .1551 


152  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Daniel  Holt 32  2  6 

Jonathan  Holt 35  13  o 

John  Irwin 800  o  o 

Moses  Jeffery 36  3  6 

Lydia  Johnson       .         .         .         .  21  15  o 

Thomas  Jones 40  4  10 

Robert  Kenedy     ....  350  o  o 

James  Lampheir        .         .         .         .  233  9  o 

James  Lamphier,  Jr  42  o  7 

Lydia  Latimer  .         .         .         .         .  27  8  6 

Pickett  Latimer     ....  565  7  8 

Samuel  Latimer        .         .         .         .  910  ig  5 

Samuel  Latimer     ....  24  7  6 

Richd  Latimer  .         .         .         .         .  26  19  8 

Peter  Latimer        .         .         .         .  31716 

Rossman  Lawrence            .         .         .  54  o  o 

John  Lathrop         .         .         .         .  1119 

Mary  Lewis       .         .         .         .         .  5120 

Christopher  Leffingwell          .         .  25  o  o 

Amos  Lester     .         .         .         .         .  12  n  9 

Ebenezer  Lester    .         .         .         .  8120 

John  Lester 35  19  7 

Edgecomb  Lee      ....  48  4  7 

Amasa  Learned         .         .         .         .  18  r  o 

Mehitabel  Leet      .         .         .         .  124  o  o 

Diodate  Little 207  5  o 

Michael  Love         .         .         .         .  23  o  o 

James  Mathews          .         .         .         .  29  19  2 

Robert  Man  waring         .         .         .  21  8  8 


from  the  Connecticut  Archives.  153 

David  Man  waring     .         .         .         .  5130 

Lawrence  Marting          ...  55  18  6 

Jeremiah  Miller          ....  2,535  18  10 

James  Miller           ....  93  8  6 

Jabez  Miner 7  10  7 

Ephraim  Minor      ....  348  17  4 

Lewis   Minor     .         .         .         .         .  71  7  4 

Anthony  Mitchell          .         .         .  23  n  6 

John  Morris 29  16  o 

Isaac  Moseley        ....  500  o  o 

David  Mumford         .         .         .  318  5  9 

Giles  Mumford 44  o  o 

John  McCurdy       .         .         .         .  1,128  o  o 

Michael  Melally     ....  94  4  7 

Temperance  Moore  ....  24  3  o 

Elizabeth  Newcomb       .         .         .  1200 

George  Newcomb     .         .         .         .  238  i  9 

Mary  Newberry     .         .         .         .  14  5  o 

Owen  Neill 91  14  6 

Widow  Nelson      ....  63  10  o 

Joseph  Owen     .         .         .         .         .  75  18  6 

Nathaniel  Overton         .         .         .  27  9  o 

Isaac  Oliver      .....  40  7  3 

William  Packwood         .         .         .  12  6  o 

Andrew  Palmer         .         .         .         .  105  10  o 

James  Parker         .         .         .         .  21  19  o 

Zuriah  Preston           .         .         .         .  21130 

James  Penniman    .         .         .         .  137  10  I 

Simeon  Peck 19  16  o 

John  Pennaert       .         .         .         .  223  8  6 

John  Prentice    .....  3  16  o 


1 54  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Christopher  Prince           .         .         .  51243 

Med  Finer 48       o       o 

James  Pittman          ....  145      18       4 

Peter  Perry 9      18       o 

Richard  Potter         ....  382       2       3 

Abigail  Potter 573       4     n 

John  Potter 8     14       5 

Ichabod  Powers           ....  620       8       o 

Ichabod  Powers,  Jun        .         .         .  188     16       8 

Joshua  Powers    .         .         .         .         .  4     17       o 

Sarah  Pool 4190 

Eliza  Plumb 197     19       o 

Green  Plumb 43     19       3 

Joseph  Plumb 24     16       o 

Ann  Richards           ....  224     15      10 
Guy  Richards  &  Sons          .         .         .811       8       o 

Mary  Richards         .         .                  .  258     17       o 

Jabez  Richards 440 

David  Richards        ....  149 

Stephen  Rougett          .         .         .         .  37       6       i 

Samuel  Roberts       ....  94       6     10 

David  Roberts 17     16       9 

Patrick  Robinson    ....  300 

Peter  Robinson 81      12       2 

Mary  Rogers 8130 

James  Rogers 455      16       5 

Benj.  Rogers    .         .         .         .         .  9     19       i 

Solomon  Rogers          ....  101       4       3 

Amos  Rogers           .         .         .         .  31        i        8 

George  Rogers 14     14       o 

James  Rogers           .         .        .         .  i      16       o 

Harris  Rogers 128     13     10 

Peter  Rogers            .         .         .         .  16       2       4 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  155 

William  Rogers 1830 

Peter  Rogers  Jr                .         .         .  1129 

John  Rogers 31        8     10 

Wm  Rogers 4     19       o 

Nath1  Salstonstall        .         .         .         .     146  9       6 

Gurdon  Salstonstall  Esq      .     .         .       1,440  o       o 

Roswell  Salstonstall    .         .         .           1,800  o       o 

Winthrop  Salstonstall      .         .         .       1,181  16       8 

Jon"  and  I.  Starr          .         .         .         .       53  2        i 

Joshua  Starr 1,250  n        8 

Lucy  Starr  .....590 

Starr  and  Tallman           .         .         .          150  o       o 

Eliza  Shapley 382  5       o 

Adam  Shapley         .         .         .         .           20  17      10 

Nath1  and  Thomas  Shaw     .         .         .  2,834  5       o 
William  Stark          .         .         .         .            1790 

Seth  Sears 13190 

John  Shepard           .         .         .         .           76.  14       o 

James  Stewart     .         .         .         .                 13  18       o 

Sarah  Setchell          .         .         .         .           56  19       o 

John  Spencer 58  8       o 

Chapman  Simmons          .         .         .           22  18       o 
James  Smith        .....470 

Thomas  Smith         .         .         .         .            1 1  o       o 

Bathsheba  Smith          ....     465  14       o 

Robert  Smith           .         .         .         .            24  18       o 

William  Skinner          .         .         .         .        15  on 

Bathsheba  Skinner .         .         .         .         180  o       o 

Lydia  Spinck 9  13       o 

John  Springer          .         .         .         .            17  19       o 

Ann  Simmonds  .         .        .  .      .        .       13  1 8       o 

Ann  Squire 7  10       o 

Joanna  Short 276  14       o 


156  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Daniel  Stole 27     14       o 

Judas  13.  Spooner         .         .         .         .       21      12       o 
Richard  Stroud        .         .         .         .  23     15       o 

Bethiah  Tallman          .         .         .  63  5  o 

Mary  Taylor 26  15  10 

Daniel  Tinker 22  17  6 

James  Tilley 1,533  10  3 

John  Tilley 6  12  6 

Edward  Tinker        .         .         .         .  25  15  9 

James  Thompson        .         .         .         •  35°  °  7 

John  Thompson       .         .         .         .  59  16  9 

Nath1  Thorp 3  13  o 

Daniel  Truman        ....  600 

Mary  Ward 28       o       o 

John  Way 590       3      1 1 

Ebenezer  Way    .         .         .         .         .15161 

John  Ward 1754 

John  Welch 46     10       o 

Walter  Welch          .         .         .         .  59     19       o 

Eliza  Westcott 87       6       o 

Laurelia  Wolfe 4160 

Anthony  Wolfe 4     14       o 

Simeon  Wolcott      ....      1,083       9       i 

James  Young 1320 


9 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  157 


APPROPRIATIONS   TO  GROTON   SUFFERERS. 

£         s.         d. 

Amos  A  very 1222 

Prudence  A very           .         .         .         .  270     14       8 

Thankful  Avery      ....  263      18       8 

Rufus  Avery 132      18       4 

Lydia  Avery 157     12        i 

Latham  Avery     .         .         .         .         .  103       5       6 

Ebenezer  Avery       ....  30       o       4 

Phebe  Avery 220 

Peter  Avery 4130 

George  Avery 882 

Elisha  Avery            .         .         .         .  10145 
Hannah  Avery    .         .         .         .         .1566 

Elizabeth  Avery       ....  260 

Benj"  Avery 3190 

Caleb  Avery 706 

Ezekiel  Bailey      .         .         .         .         .  2195 

James  Bailey  .....  2      10       o 

Stephen  Billings          .         .         .         .  74       6       7 

John  Brown     .....  29       5       8 

Simeon  Chester       .         .         .         .  8150 

Samuel  Chester 10       6       6 

Eldridge  Chester     .         .         .         .  6     1 1       o 

Jedediah  Chester         .         .         .         .  21      13       2 

Benjamin  Chester    ....  442       3       o 

Bcnj.  Chester,  as  executor   .         .         .  300     15       o 

Charles  Chester        .         .         .         .  0155 

Daniel  Chester 19156 

Jason  Chester           .         .         .         .  20     18       o 

Esther  Conklin    .         .         .         .         .  39        i        6 


j  58  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Nathan  Darrow  ....911 

Mary  Dodge 14       6       o 

Charles  Eldridge,  Jr        .         .         .  755       6       7 

Daniel  Eldridge           .         .         .         .  4     14       o 

Serg'  Daniel  Eldridge      ...  119 

Andrew  Gallop        .         .         .         .  14       8       o 

Robert  Gallop 1 1        6       6 

Thomas  Griffin         ....  380 

Jonathan  Havens     .         .         .         .  1190 

John  Hicks 780 

Ruth  Holliday         .         .         .         .  43      1 1        3 

Edward  Jeffery        .         .         .         .  158       5       4 

Alexander  Kidd       .         .         .         .  9511 

John  Latham  .         .         .         .         .  94     18       9 

Capt.  Edward  Latham         ...  4       8       7 

Cap'  Wm  Latham     ....  45       2       2 

Lydia  Latham     .         .         .         .  92       4       6 

Mary  Latham           .         ,         .  400 

Jonathan  Latham         ....  3       4       8 

Elizabeth  Latham    .         :         .         .  15      12       6 

W.  A.  Latham    .         .         .         .         .  36     19       o 

Ebenezer  Ledyard,  Esq  .         .         .  1,151        3       4 

Bridget  Ledyard           ....  397     14       5 

Youngs  Ledyard  &  Co.  ...  75       o       o 

Benj.  and  Caleb  Ledyard     .         .         .  200       o       o 

Anne  Ledyard         ....  142        7      10 

William  Leeds    .....  360       7       8 

Anne  Leeds     .         .         .         .         .  57      15        2 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives  159 

Benajah  Lester 027 

Thomas  D.  Lewis   .         .         .         .  o     13     10 

Rebecca  Miner        .         .  .         .             i  6  1 1 

Henry  Mason      .         .  .         .                27  18  o 

Prudence  Miner       .         .  .         .            17  19  10 

Elizabeth  Moore          .  .         .         .       62  10  9 

Nancy  Moore           .         .  .         .            30  10  2 

Mary  Moore 10  15  6 

Frederick  Moore      .         .  .         .         269  2  o 

Elisha  Morgan    .         .  .         .         .         7  13  o 

Joshua  and  Isaac  Morgan  .         .             4  10  o 

Thomas  Mumford,  Esq  .         .         .     604  16  o 

Abigail  Palmer  .  .  .  .  .  6  19  4 
Amos  Prentice,  Esq  .  .  .  566  i  6 
Elisha  Prior  .  .  .  .  34  12  n 

Alexander  Reed          .         .         .  60     18       i 

Thomas  Starr  .....  i  i  6 
John  Starr  .  .  .  .  .  0196 

Nathaniel  Seabury  .  .  .  .  3  18  o 
Elizabeth  Seabury  .  .  .  .  177  11  o 
Thankful  Stanton  .  .  .  .089 
Sarah  Stedman  .  .  .  .  o  14  2 

Jacob  Sholes  .....099 
Nathan  Sholes  .  .  .  .  0153 

Lucretia  Sholes  ....490 

James  Smith  ....  620 

Shoram  (negro)  ....690 

Benj"  Vose 686 


160  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Experience  Ward        .         .         .  .         2      19       5 

Samuel  Walworth   .         .         .         .  10     n       6 

Eunice  Williams         .         .         .  .1590 

Peter  Williams        .         .         .          .  2776 

Daniel  Williams           .         .         .  .         7130 

Christopher  Woodbridge          .  130 

Ezekiel  Yerrington           ...  276 


,£7,712      14     10 

The  total  losses  as  footed  on  the  records  are  ,£151,- 
606  8s.  Sal.  A  gift  of  nearly  three  and  one  third  acres 
for  each  pound  of  loss  eleven  years  afterward. 

£          J.       d. 

Total  of  New  London    .         .         .       53,696       9       8 
Total  of  Groton          .         .         .  7,712     14     10 


Total  property  loss  by  Arnold's  raid, } 

as  reported   by  the  committee  of  (-61,409       4       6 
the  legislature  J 

The  actual  loss  was,  no  doubt,  much  greater.  At 
six  shillings  on  the  dollar  equal  to  $204,697.33. 

Comparatively  few  of  the  New  London  or  Groton 
sufferers  received  any  benefit  from  this  land.  Many 
of  the  smaller  rights  were  disposed  of  to  speculators 
for  nominal  sums,  and  all  were  so  far  from  the  then 
civilized  world  that  much  of  the  land  was  left  unoccu 
pied,  until  the  grantee  being  dead  and  the  title  lost 
sight  of,  the  land  from  neglect  was  finally  sold  for  taxes. 

The  population  of  the  town  of  New  London  in  1782 
was  5,688,  showing  a  loss  of  200  since  the  census  of 
1774.  By  the  census  of  1880  the  same  territory  has 


From  the  Connecticut  Archives.  161 

15,896:    namely,   New    London,    10,529;     Waterford, 
2,701,  and  Montville,  2,666. 

Population  of  Groton  in  1782,  3,828,  showing  a  loss 
of  385  since  the  census  of  1774.  By  the  census  of 
1880  the  same  territory  had  6,200:  namely,  Groton, 
5,127;  Ledyard,  1,073. 


GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL'S  LETTER. 

THE  massacre  of  Fort  Griswold  and  the  burning 
of  the  town  of  New  London  were  events  that 
gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  patriotic  ardor  of  the  sons 
of  Connecticut.  Immediately  on  hearing  of  the  event 
Governor  Trumbull,  then  in  Hartford,  sent  to  New 
London  for  a  careful  and  duly  authenticated  statement 
of  all  its  material  circumstances,  in  order  that  he  might 
adopt  measures  suited  in  every  respect  to  the  emer 
gency. 

While  thus  taking  measures  to  procure  full  and  ac 
curate  information  of  the  attack,  the  Governor  hast 
ened  to  communicate  what  he  had  already  received 
to  General  Washington  at  headquarters,  as  shown  by 
the  following  letter,  elated  September  15,  1781  :- 

"Your  letter  of  the  2  Ist  ultimo,"  he  proceeds,  "  ar 
rived  on  the  5th  instant,  whereupon  my  council  being 
convened,  amidst  various  accounts  of  the  movements 
and  designs  of  the  enemy  in  New  York,  and  some 
apprehensions  of  their  hostile  attack  upon,  or  invasion 
of  this  State,  every  exertion  was  made  and  making  for 
its  defence,  by  ordering  the  militia  to  be  reviewed,  and 
detachments  to  be  sent  to  the  sea  coasts,  and  valua 
ble  effects  there  deposited  to  be  removed  to  interior 
parts,  &c. 

"  But  unfortunately,  before  these  preparations  could 
be  completed,  viz.  on  the  6th  instant,  a  party  under  the 


Governor  Trumbulfs  Letter.  163 

command  of  the  infamous  Arnold  made  wanton  de 
struction  both  of  lives  and  property  in  New  London 
and  Groton  near  the  harbor.  Though  many  material 
circumstances  relative  to  the  tragical  scene  are  not  yet 
obtainable  with  such  a  degree  of  precision  and  cer 
tainty  as  might  be  wished,  yet,  according  to  the  best 
intelligence  I  have  been  able  to  collect,  it  seems  a  num 
ber  exceeding  one  and  perhaps  two  thousand,  chiefly 
of  chosen  British  and  foreign  troops,  landed  in  the 
morning  on  both  sides  of  the  harbor's  mouth,  whereof 
one  division  immediately  marched  up  to  and  soon  took 
possession  of  the  town  and  fortifications  of  New  Lon 
don  which  were  evacuated  on  their  approach,  as  being 
indefencible,  whilst  on  the  opposite  shore,  the  fort  on 
Groton  Bank,  being  attacked  by  six  or  eight  hundred 
men,  was  nobly  defended  for  a  considerable  time  by 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  under  the  command 
of  Lieut.  Colonel  William  Ledyard,  who  bravely  re 
pulsed  the  assailants  until  they  suffered  about  one 
fourth  part  in  killed  and  wounded.  But  being  over 
powered  by  superior  numbers,  Col.  Ledyard  perceiving 
the  enemy  had  gained  possession  of  some  part  of  the 
fort,  and  opened  the  gate,  although  he  had  only  three 
men  killed,  thought  proper  to  surrender  himself  with 
the  garrison  prisoners,  and  accordingly  presented  his 
sword  to  a  British  officer  on  the  parade,  who  received 
the  same  and  immediately  thrust  it  through  that  brave 
but  unfortunate  commander;  whereupon  the  soldiery 
also  pierced  his  body  in  many  places  with  bayonets, 
and  proceeded  to  massacre  upwards  of  seventy  of  the 
officers  and  garrison,  until  by  the  interposition  of  a 
British  officer,  who  entered  the  fort  too  late  to  rescue 
the  gallant  officers,  &c.  about  forty  of  the  defenceless 
survivors  were  made  prisoners,  and  carried  off,  exclu- 


164  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

sive  of  about  the  like  number  who  were  wounded  and 
many  of  them  dangerously. 

"  This  heroic  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  garrison, 
however,  together  with  the  increasing  appearance  of 
the  militia,  and  small  skirmishes  between  some  scat 
tering  parties  and  advanced  guards,  prevented  the 
enemy  from  fully  executing  their  savage  plan,  and  oc 
casioned  them  to  retreat  on  board  in  the  evening  with 
precipitation,  after  having  knocked  off  the  trunnions 
of  seven  guns  and  consumed  by  fire  about  seventy-one 
dwelling  houses,  sixty-five  stores,  twenty-two  barns,  a 
church,  court  house  and  jail,  together  with  a  number 
of  vessels  lying  unrigged,  by  the  wharves.  The  rest 
of  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  saved  by  running 
up  Norwich  River,  and  several  valuable  buildings  on 
each  shore  preserved  by  quenching  the  flames. 

"  The  loss  of  property  by  the  conflagration  was,  how 
ever,  very  great  and  ruinous  to  many  individuals,  as 
also  a  sensible  damage  to  the  public.  Yet,  what  is 
more  to  be  regretted  is  the  unhappy  fate  of  that  worthy 
officer,  Colonel  Ledyard,  and  those  brave  men  (many 
of  whom  sustained  respectable  characters,  and  were 
esteemed  the  flower  of  that  town)  who  so  gallantly 
fought  and  unfortunately  fell  with  him,  victims  to  Brit 
ish  cruelty.  I  have  given  directions  for  procuring  au 
thenticated  information  of  those  transactions,  as  soon 
as  the  situation  of  the  wounded  and  prisoners  (some 
of  whom  are  paroled)  will  admit,  which  will  be  for 
warded  as  soon  as  obtained. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of 
esteem  and  consideration,  your  Excellency's  most  obe 
dient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"JONATHAN   TRUMBULL." 


Beatson,  Adolphus,  British  Annual  Register.      165 

Having  given  the  local  and  perhaps  most  partisan 
American  accounts,  together  with  the  British  official 
publications,  I  have  thought  it  not  out  of  place  to  give 
a  space  to  the  accounts  of  unprejudiced  historians  of 
the  time,  as  well  as  some  of  the  pro-British  accounts. 

Robert  Beatson,  LL.  D.,  in  his  "  Naval  and  Military 
Memoirs  of  Great  Britain,"  published  in  London  in 
1804,  follows  very  nearly  the  text  of  Arnold's  report, 
but  says :  — 

"  Notwithstanding  the  advantages  the  defenders  had 
in  being  so  much  under  cover,  Col.  Ledyard  and  most 
of  the  officers  who  were  in  Fort  Griswold  were  killed, 
and  in  that  place  eighty-five  private  men  were  found 
killed  and  sixty  wounded,  most  of  the  latter  mortally." 

Adolphus'  "  History  of  England,"  in  seven  volumes, 
dismisses  this  battle  with  — 

"  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Lord  Cornwallis  in  Vir 
ginia,  Genl  Arnold  returned  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  who 
now  employed  him  in  an  attack  on  New  London  in 
Conn.  Although  deceived  in  his  information  respect 
ing  the  fortifications,  Arnold  took  the  town  and  a  fort 
called  Griswold  by  assault,  destroyed  50  pieces  of  can 
non  and  a  large  quantity  of  Military  Stores,  and  burned 
1 2  ships,  the  flames  of  which  spreading  to  the  town  a 
great  part  was  consumed." 

The  following  is  the  account  of  this  battle  as  given 
in  the  "  British  Annual  Register."  »It  is  from  the 
English  stand-point,  and  is  quite  as  fair  as  anybody 
could  reasonably  expect.  It  is  evidently  the  account 
which  many  of  the  historians  have  used. 

The  "British  Annual  Register  for  1782,"  in  describ 
ing  the  events  of  1781,  gives  the  details  of  the  contin 
uance  of  the  "  War  in  America,"  and  is  the  English  his- 


1 66  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

torical  record  of  Arnold's  expedition  to  Connecticut, 
the  battle  of  Groton  Heights,  and  the  burning  of  New 
London,  as  follows  :  — 

"  As  some  consolation  for  the  imminent  danger 
which  threatened  the  British  power  in  Virginia,  and 
some  return  for  the  deceptions  so  successfully  prac- 
ised  by  the  enemy,  their  departure  from  the  confines 
of  New  York  was  speedily  followed  by  a  successful 
expedition  to  Connecticut  which  was  attended  with  no 
small  loss  and  ruin  to  the  Americans.  The  trading 
town  of  New  London  on  the  River  Thames  was  the 
object  of  this  enterprise,  and  its  conduct  with  a  suffi 
cient  land  and  marine  force  was  committed  to  Gen1 
Arnold,  who  was  himself  a  native  of  that  province. 

"  The  embarkation  having  passed  over  from  the  Long 
Island  shore  in  the  night,  the  troops  were  landed  in 
two  detachments  on  each  side  of  the  harbor  in  the 
morning,  that  on  the  Groton  side  being  commanded 
by  Lieut  Col.  Eyre,  and  that  on  the  New  London  side 
by  the  General.  Mr.  Arnold  met  with  no  great  trouble 
on  his  side,  Fort  Trumbull,  and  a  redoubt,  which  was 
intended  to  cover  the  harbor  and  town,  being  taken 
without  much  difficulty  or  loss,  and  the  place  itself 
being  entirely  defenceless. 

"  But  affairs  on  the  other  side  were  more  serious. 
Fort  Griswold,  which  the  eager  and  encouraging  zeal 
of  the  loyalists  had  represented  as  very  incomplete  in 
its  works,  and  destitute  of  any  thing  like  a  garrison, 
was  on  the  contrary  found  to  be  very  strong  and  no 
less  well  defended.  The  general,  under  the  impres 
sion  of  the  information  he  had  received,  and  from  the 
opportunity  which  the  fort  afforded  to  the  enemy's 
ships  escaping  up  the  river,  had  directed  Col.  Eyre  to 
attack  the  fort  directly, and  carry  it  by  a  coup-de-main; 


British  Annual  Register.  167 

but  upon  his  obtaining  a  good  view  of  it  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  New  London,  he  immediately  perceived 
the  deception,  and  that  the  fort  was  in  a  much  more 
formidable  state  than  it  had  been  represented,  upon 
which  he  dispatched  an  officer  to  countermand  the 
orders  for  an  attack. 

"  The  officer  was  too  late,  and  the  attack  immedi 
ately  commenced.  The  fort  was  indeed  formidable, 
the  defence  answerable,  and  it  required  all  the  valor 
and  impetuosity  of  the  two  brave  regiments  which 
were  engaged,  to  surmount  the  dangers  and  difficul 
ties  of  the  encounter.  The  attack,  notwithstanding 
the  little  time  for  observation  or  counsel,  was  very 
judiciously  conducted.  The  work  was  a  square,  with 
flanks  ;  and  the  troops,  advancing  on  three  sides  at 
once,  succeeded  in  making  a  lodgment  in  the  ditch  ; 
they  then,  under  the  cover  of  a  very  constant  and 
heavy  fire  upon  the  works,  effected  a  second  lodgment 
upon  the  fraizing,  which  was  a  work  of  the  greatest 
difficulty,  as  besides  the  obstinacy  of  the  defence,  the 
height  was  so  considerable  that  the  soldiers  could  only 
ascend  by  mutual  help  from  each  other's  shoulders, 
and  those  .  who  first  ascended  had  still  to  silence  a 
nine-pounder,  which  enfilidated  the  very  spot  on  which 
they  stood.  The  troops  at  length  made  their  way  good 
with  fixed  bayonets  through  the  embrasures,  notwith 
standing  the  fierce  defence  made  by  the  garrison,  who 
now,  changing  their  weapons,  fought  desperately  hand 
to  hand  with  long  spears. 

"  The  40"'  and  54"'  regiments  purchased  the  honor, 
great  as  it  was,  which  they  gained  in  storming  this 
place.  Col.  Eyre  was  wounded  in  the  attack,  and  the 
command  taken  by  Major  Montgomery,  who  being 
killed  with  a  spear  as  he  gallantly  entered  the  works 


1 68  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

was  succeeded  by  Major  Bromfield,  who  had  the  for 
tune  of  completing  the  reduction  of  the  fort.  Two 
commissioned  officers  and  46  men  were  killed  on  the 
spot,  besides  eight  missing,  whose  fate  may  scarcely  be 
considered  as  doubtful ;  eight  commissioned  officers, 
some  of  whom  died,  with  135  non-commissioned  offi 
cers  and  privates  were  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  gar 
rison  was  proportionate  to  the  obstinacy  of  their  de 
fence.  Col.  Ledyard,  their  commander,  with  most  of 
his  officers  and  85  private  men  lay  dead  in  the  fort ;  of 
60  who  were  disabled,  much  the  greater  part  were  mor 
tally  wounded,  about  70  were  made  prisoners. 

"  The  taking  of  Fort  Griswold  did  not  prevent  16 
of  the  American  ships  from  making  their  escape  up 
the  river ;  about  a  dozen  others  were  burnt.  The  loss 
which  the  Americans  sustained  in  the  destruction  of 
this  place  was  prodigious.  The  quantities  of  naval 
stores,  of  European  manufactures,  of  East  India  and  of 
West  India  commodities  arc  represented  to  have  been 
so  immense,  as  almost  to  exceed  belief.  Every  thing 
on  the  town  side  of  the  river  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Nothing  was  carried  off,  except  such  small  articles  of 
spoil  as  afforded  no  trouble  to  the  conveyance.  The 
burning  of  the  town  was  said  to  be  contrary  to  inten 
tion  and  orders,  and  was  attributed  to  the  great  quan 
tity  of  gunpowder  lodged  in  the  store-houses.  The 
business  was  so  badly  conducted  that  the  barracks  and 
a  considerable  magazine  of  gunpowder  at  Fort  Gris 
wold  escaped  that  destruction  which  involved  every 
thing  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  This  is  not  ac 
counted  for,  but  must  undoubtedly  have  proceeded 
from  a  knowledge  of  some  movements  making  by  the 
enemy  in  the  adjoining  country." 


Gordon,  Ramsay,  Botta.  169 

"  The  History  of  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Establish 
ment  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America,"  by  William  Gordon,  D.  D.,  and  published 
in  London  in  1788,  gives  substantially  the  same  ac 
count,  differing  somewhat  in  its  details,  a  part  of  his 
information  being  from  other  sources.  Of  the  massa 
cre  he  says  :  - 

"  The  Americans  had  not  more  than  half  a  dozen 
killed  before  the  enemy  entered  the  fort,  when  a  severe 
execution  took  place  though  resistance  ceased.  The 
British  officer  enquired  on  his  entering  who  com 
manded  ?  Col.  Ledyard  replied,  '  I  did,  sir,  but  you 
do  now,'  and  presented  him  his  sword.  The  Colonel 
was  immediately  run  through  and  killed.  The  slain 
were  73,  the  wounded  between  30  and  40  and  about 
40  were  carried  off  prisoners." 

Daniel  Ramsay,  M.  C.,  of  South  Carolina,  prepared 
a  history  of  the  American  Revolution,  which  was  pub 
lished  in  London  in  1793.  In  it  the  account  of  Ar 
nold's  expedition  is  essentially  a  copy  from  Gordon, 
except  that  he  places  Colonel  Eyre  among  the  killed 
and  Major  Montgomery  among  the  wounded,  evidently 
an  error  in  transcribing,  as  the  reverse  was  the  fact. 
He  closes  his  article  as  follows  :  "  The  Americans  lost 
many  valuable  men  and  much  of  their  possessions  by 
this  incursion,  but  the  cause  for  which  they  contended 
was  uninjured." 

In  1809,  Charles  I.  W.  Botta,  a  distinguished  Italian, 
physician  and  author,  member  of  the  administration  of 
the  department  of  the  Po,  and  holding  other  impor 
tant  offices  under  Napoleon  in  1809,  prepared  "The 
History  of  the  War  of  the  Independence  of  America," 


170  Battle  of  Grolon  Heights. 

in    Italian,  in  four  octavo  volumes,   in'  which   he    ac 
knowledges  as  authorities  consulted  the  "  British  An 
nual  Register,"  David  Ramsay's  "  History  of  the  Amer 
ican  Revolution,"  and  William  Gordon,  from  which  the 
previous  quotations  have  been  taken,  with  the  addition 
of  some  facts  and  incidents  discreditable  to  the  enemy, 
omitted  by  the  British  historians,  and  doubtless  wrote 
without    prejudice  on   either  side,   independently  and 
truthfully,  as  follows :     "  The  principal  object  of  this 
(Arnold's)  expedition  was  to  seize  New  London,  a  rich 
and  flourishing  town,  situated  upon  the  New  Thames. 
The  access  of  the  port  of  New  London  was  rendered 
difficult  by  two  forts  erected  on    the  opposite  banks  • 
one    called   fort    Trumbull,  the    other   fort    Griswold 
The    royalists    having   disembarked,    unexpectedly,  at 
daybreak,    carried  the   first  without  much  effort ;  but 
the  second  made  a  vigorous  resistance.     Col.  Ledyard 
had  promptly  thrown  himself  into  it  with   a  body  of 
the   militia,  and  the  work  itself  was  very  strong,  con 
sisting  of  a  walled  square  with  flanks.     The  assailants, 
when   finally  masters  of  the  place,  massacred  as  well 
those  who    surrendered   as   those  who  resisted.     The 
town  of  New  London  itself  was  laid  in  ashes,  it  is  not 
known  whether  by  design  or  chance.     A  great  num 
ber  of  vessels,  richly  laden,  fell  into  the  power  of  Ar 
nold.     This  first  success  obtained,  the  English  seeing 
no  movement  made  in  their  favor,  and  observing,  on 
the  contrary,  the   most  menacing  dispositions  among 
the  inhabitants,  decided  for  retreat.     It  was  signalized 
by   the   most  horrible    devastations.     This  expedition 
was    on  their   part    but  a  piratical  inroad,  absolutely 
without   utility.     In  vain  did  they  endeavor  to  make  a 
great  noise  with  their  march  and  their  bloody  execu 
tions  in  Connecticut.     Washington  scarcely  noticed  it, 


Charles  Allyn.  171 

The  naval  battle  and  the  diversion  against  New  Lon 
don,  neither  had  attained  its  object." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  "  British  Annual  Reg 
ister,"  following  Arnold's  official  returns,  omits  say 
ing  anything  in  regard  to  nearly  eighty  of  the  heroic 
defenders  who  were  massacred  within  the  fort  after 
resistance  ceased,  or  that  the  fact  that  its  gallant  com 
mander  was  murdered  with  his  own  sword,  but  sim 
ply  says,  "Col.  Ledyard,  the  commander,  with  most  of 
his  officers  and  85  private  men,  lay  dead  in  the  fort," 
plainly  intimating  that  they  all  fell  before  the  entry  of 
the  British  troops  and  surrender  of  the  garrison.  It 
is  more  emphatic  in  speaking  of  the  strength  of  the 
work,  the  ignorance  of  Arnold's  informers,  and  the 
valor  and  impetuosity  of  the  assaulting  party.  It  has 
been  reserved  for  later  generations  to  doubt  the  judg 
ment  of  Ledyard  in  refusing  to  surrender  without  a 
fight,  forgetting  the  fact  that  Arnold  sent  a  messenger 
to  countermand  the  order  for  attack,  plainly  showing 
what  he  then  thought  of  the  strength  of  the  work  and 
the  wisdom  of  an  assault.  The  other  historians,  Gor 
don,  Ramsay,  and  Botta,  all  agreed  that  only  about  six 
or  seven  persons  were  killed  previous  to  the  storming 
of  the  works.  Gordon  alone  describes  the  cruelty  of 
the  enemy  in  placing  the  wounded,  bleeding  prisoners 
in  the  wagon  to  be  run  down  the  steep  hillside.  Gor 
don  also  declares  unequivocally  that  "  the  burning  of 
the  town  was  intentional  and  not  accidental."  Botta 
very  naturally  denounces  the  expedition  as  "  a  piratical 
inroad,  absolutely  without  utility,  and  signalized  by  the 
most  horrible  devastations,"  and  this  may  be  regarded 
as  the  verdict  of  subsequent  history. 


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FORT    GRISWOLD. 

IN  my  researches  I  found  the  petition  of  Col.  Wm 
Ledyard  which  is  printed  below.  In  what  light  the 
Legislature  viewed  it  is  seen  by  their  allowance  of  the 
full  amount  of  the  claim.  After  reading  this  petition 
and  statement  of  Col.  Ledyard,  we  may  cease  to  wonder 
that  he  did  not  give  up  to  the  invader  this  fort  which 
he  had  seen  grow,  stone  by  stone,  under  his  eye  and 
direction,  till  he  had  come  to  feel  an  affection  for  it  as 
if  it  were  a  child  of  his  own.  He  undoubtedly  knew 
its  great  strength,  and  believed  it  capable  of  being  suc 
cessfully  defended  against  any  force,  and  certainly 
against  all  the  British  at  any  time  in  sight.  And  such 
a  belief  acquits  him  of  rashness  or  stupidity.  And  the 
further  facts  that  he  had  at  least  a  fifth  as  many  men, 
all  fairly  under  cover,  as  the  English  commander  had, 
and  that  he  did  once,  at  least,  if  not  more  than  once, 
repulse  the  invaders,  give  added  force  to  his  evidently 
good  judgment.  Besides,  accounts  agree  in  stating 
that  he  confidently  expected  formidable  reinforcements. 
This  refusal  to  surrender  unconditionally  without  a 
fight  transformed  the  fort  into  an  Altar  of  Liberty 
where  was  made  the  last  sacrifice  on  the  soil  of  New 
England.  Each  stone  laid  by  Ledyard  becomes  a 
part  of  a  monument,  enduring  as  history  itself,  to  the 
bravery  of  the  garrison  and  the  self-forgetting  stub 
bornness  of  the  defence.  Notwithstanding  the  train 
ing  and  numbers  of  the  assailants,  they  were  conquer- 


1 74  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

ors  at  the  expense  of  their  honor  and  with  a  loss  of 
more  than  a  fifth  of  their  companions.  Each  picket 
of  the  "  fraise  "  impaled  the  reputation  of  the  once  hon 
ored  Benedict  Arnold,  and  held  up  for  the  scorn  of  all 
time  the  revengeful  brutality  of  his  subalterns. 

To  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  now  Convened 
at  Hartford. 

The  Memorial  of  ...  William  Ledyard  of  Groton 
in  the  County  of  New  London  humbly  sheweth 

That  foon  after  the  Commencment  of  the  present 
War  the  Superintendency  and  Construction  of  the 
Fortifications  that  guard  the  Entrance  of  the  Harbor 
of  New  London  and  thofe  that  fecure  the  Town  were 
committed  to  his  Charge  that  with  great  Fatigue  and 
attention  he  was  employed  from  the  2olh  of  March  1777 
to  the  2Oth  of  Nov  following  in  planning  and  directing 
the  Building  of  the  Fort  on  Groton  fide  called  Fort 
Grifwold.  That  from  the  Ist  Day  of  April  1778  to 
the  Ist  of  November  following  he  was  engaged  with 
great  Labour  and  Induftry  in  planning  and  directing 
the  Building  of  the  Fort  on  New  London  fide  called 
Fort  Trumbull  and  that  from  the  15"'  Day  of  April 
1779  to  the  2oth  Day  of  October  following  he  had  the 
fole  direction  of  the  Building  of  the  Works  on  Town 
Hill  in  New  London,  for  which  feveral  and  extraordi 
nary  fervices  your  Memorialist  has  not  recd  the  least 
recompenfe  and  having  made  out  his  Account  therefor 
he  inclofef  it  for  your  Honors  inflection  and  humbly 
prayes  your  Honors  to  make  fuch  allowances  thereon 
as  fhall  be  thought  juft  and  equitable  and  your  memo 
rial  ift  as  in  Duty  bound  fhall  ever  pray. 

Dated  at  Hartford  the  15"'  Day  of  December 
ANNO  DOM  1780 

Wm  LEDYARD. 


Fort  Griswold.  175 

REVOLUTIONARY  WAR,  VOL.  xx.,  Doc.  226. 

Governor  &  Company  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  to 
William  Ledyard  Dr. 

To  my  directing  the  building  of  the  Fortifi 
cations  at  Gro  ton  -from  2oth  March  1777  to 
20th  Novr  following  at  ,£8  p  M°.  .  ,£64.  o.  o 

To  my  directing  ditto  and  at  Fort  Trumbull 
from  Ist  April  1778  to  Ist  Novr  following  7 
M°  ®  £g  ......  63.  o.  o. 

To  my  directing  the  Works  on  Town  Hill 
from  15th  Apl  177910  20"'  Octr  following, 
is  6  m°  @  £9  .....  54-0-  o. 


/iSi.o.  o. 
GROTON,  23^  Octr,  1780. 

Save  Errors, 

WM  LEDYARD.1 

Probably  no  feature  in  the  theatre  of  the  battle  has 
changed  so  little  as  the  old  fort.  It  is  substantially 
the  same  in  size  and  outline  as  then.  The  barracks, 
magazine,  and  platform  of  that  day  have  decayed  and 
fallen,  but  their  sites  are  still  plainly  recognizable  by 
the  ruins.  Along  the  east  side  of  the  parade  three 
soil-covered  mounds  mark  the  location  of  the  old  bar 
rack  chimneys.  In  the  southwest  bastion  is  the  ruined 
masonry  of  the  magazine,  near  which  stood  the  flag 
staff.  As  nearly  on  the  same  spot  as  possible  was 
placed  the  new  flagstaff  raised  in  iSSi.  Along  the 
west  side  are  still  seen  the  stone  foundations  upon 

1  This  Memorial  with  account  inclosed  was  referred  to  a  Committee  of 
the  General  Assembly  to  consider  and  report.  On  receipt  of  their  report 
an  act  was  passed  by  both  branches  ordering  payment  of  the  bill  as 
presented  and  given  above.  —  A. 


176  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

which  rested  the  wood  platform,  and  the  well  near  the 
gate  is  the  same  to  which,  on  that  bloody  day,  the  dy 
ing  soldier  in  his  fevered  anguish  wistfully  turned, 
and  vainly  craved  of  the  implacable  Briton  its  cooling 
draught. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  parade  are  the  ruins  of  a 
magazine  constructed  in  1 798,  when  a  war  with  France 
was  considered  imminent ;  and  the  coast  fortifications, 
which  had  received  but  little  attention  since  the  peace 
of  1783,  were  put  in  a  state  of  defence.  In  1812-14 
the  old  barracks  were  repaired,  the  ditch  somewhat 
deepened,  the  parapets  strengthened  with  fresh  earth, 
and  heavier  ordnance  mounted ;  but  these  guns  and 
their  carriages  were  a  short  time  afterwards  removed. 
In  1842  or  1843  a  commission  from  the  War  Depart 
ment  reported  in  favor  of  making  this  fort  a  permanent 
work ;  but  the  Mexican  question,  which  was  then  loom 
ing  into  view  in  the  southwestern  horizon,  caused  the 
abandonment  of  the  project  at  that  time,  and  it  has 
never  since  been  revived.  Aside  from  its  command 
ing  position  this  old  fort  would  present  to  the  military 
eye  of  fifty  years  ago  but  small  claims  for  offensive 
powers  ;  but  the  lessons  of  modern  war  have  taught 
the  engineer  of  to-day  that,  mounted  with  improved 
artillery,  the  old  sodded  ruin  would  be  more  capable 
of  injury  to  an  enemy,  and  far  more  susceptible  of 
defence,  than  the  elaborate  granite  fortress  opposite. 
But,  however  strong  and  defiant  it  might  be  made,  let 
us  hope  the  occasion  for  its  proof  will  never  arise  ;  that 
its  grass-covered  ramparts,  once  sanctified  by  the  blood 
of  patriots,  may  never  be  torn  by  hostile  shot — never 
again  be  the  scene  of  human  conflict. 


THE    BATTLE    MONUMENT. 

IN  the  year  1826  a  number  of  gentlemen  in  Groton, 
feeling  that  the  tragic  events  occurring  in  the 
neighborhood  in  1781  should  be  more  properly  com 
memorated,  organized  as  an  association  for  the  pur 
pose  of  erecting  a  monument.  An  application  to  the 
legislature  for  a  charter  was  granted,  and  a  lottery  in 
aid  of  the  work  was  legalized  by  special  act.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  September  6th  of  that  year,  and 
on  the  6th  of  September,  1830,  it  was  dedicated  with 
imposing  ceremonies.  During  the  centennial  year  im 
portant  repairs  and  changes  were  made. 

In  form  it  is  now  an  obelisk  twenty-two  feet  square 
at  the  base,  and  eight  and  one  half  feet  at  base  of  py- 
ramidon,  resting  on  a  die  twenty-four  feet  square,  which 
in  turn  rests  upon  a  base  twenty-six  feet  square.  Its 
material  is  granite,  quarried  in  the  neighborhood. 

Its  whole  height  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet, 
and  its  summit,  which  is  reached  by  a  spiral  stair-way 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  stone  steps,  is  two  hun 
dred  and  sixty-five  feet  above  the  waters  of  the  bay. 
From  this  point  a  picture  of  sea  and  land  of  almost 
unrivalled  beauty  is  presented,  well  repaying  the  visitor 
for  the  toil  of  ascent. 

Upon  a  marble  slab  on  the  west  face,  over  the  en 
trance,  is  the  following  inscription  :  - 


GROTON    HEIGHTS    MONUMENT 

To  commemorate  the  defence  of  Fort  Griswold  by  Col.  WILLIAM  LEDYARD  and 
his  brave  companions,  September  6,  1781.  Corner-stone  laid  September  6,  1826  ; 
dedicated  September  6,  1830.  Material,  granite  ;  26  feet  square  at  the  base,  24 
feet  square  on  the  die,  22  feet  square  at  base  of  the  shaft,  and  II  feet  at  the 
top;  whole  height  127  feet.  It  stood  thus  till"  the  Centennial,  in  1 88 1,  when 
the  height  was  increased  to  135  feet. 


The  Battle  Monument.  179 

This  Monument 

was  erected  under  the  patronage  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  A.  D.  1830, 

and  in  the  55th  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  U.  S.  A. 

In  Memory  of  the  Brave  Patriots 
who  fell  in  the  massacre  at  Fort  Griswold  near  this  spot 

on  the  6th  of  September,  A.  D.  1781, 
when  the  British  under  the  command  of 

the  traitor  Benedict  Arnold, 

burnt  the  towns  of  New  London  &  Groton,  and  spread 
desolation  and  woe  throughout  this  region. 


Within  the  monument,  upon  the  right  of  the  en 
trance,  is  a  marble  tablet  bearing  the  names  of  the 
heroes  who  fell  on  that  bloody  day.  This  was  formerly 
on  the  south  side  of  the  monument,  facing  the  fort ; 
some  years  since,  repairs  becoming  necessary,  it  was 
removed  to  the  present  location,  and  its  place  supplied 
with  solid  masonry.  There  was  also  above  and  con 
nected  with  it  a  slab  bearing  the  following  inscription, 
which  was  also  removed  at  that  time  and  never  re 
placed  :  — 

"  Zebulon  and  Naphtali  were  a  people  that  jeoparded  their  lives  unto 
the  death  in  the  high  places  of  the  field." 

Judges,  5  Chap.  1 8  verse. 


MONUMENTAL    RECORDS. 

THIS  chapter  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  interest  ex 
cited  in  this  direction  by  the  compilation  of  the 
narratives.  The  subject  naturally  follows,  and  will,  it  is 
thought,  give  additional  interest  if  not  value  to  the  pre 
ceding  narratives  and  reports,  in  which  we  see,  amid 
the  smoke  of  battle  and  "in  the  frenzy  of  the  death- 
struggle,  the  heroes  whom  we  here  follow  to  their  quiet 
resting-places,  and,  reading  their  homely  epitaphs,  seem 
in  a  measure  to  become  personally  acquainted  with 
them. 

A  visit  to  the  graves  near  the  scene  of  the  battle 
led  to  wider  explorations  in  the  many  public  and  private 
cemeteries  of  Groton  and  adjacent  townships.  Nearly 
one  hundred  were  visited,  and  the  result,  considering 
the  general  ignorance,  and,  it  may  also  regretfully  be 
said,  the  indifference  of  even  their  descendants  regard 
ing  the  sepulture  of  these  brave  men,  was  much  more 
successful  than  was  or  could  have  been  anticipated. 
Quite  a  large  number  of  graves  are  known  to  have 
ever  remained  unprovided  with  engraved  tablets,  and 
of  those  which  were  properly  so  marked,  many  of  the 
stones  have  fallen,  and  are  now  concealed  by  the  heavy 
vegetable  accumulations  of  years.  Hence  some,  doubt 
less,  were  passed  over  undiscovered,  even  after  extended 
inquiry  and  careful  research.  These  neglected  and 
forgotten  memorials  of  the  fathers'  devotion  to  the 


FIRST    BURYING    GROUND,    NEW    LONDON.1 

1  It  is  said  that  it  was  from  this  ground  that  Arnold  viewed  Fort  Griswold,  and 
sent  the  messenger  countermanding  the  order  for  its  assault. 


1 82  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

cause  of  country  and  liberty  are  widely  scattered 
through  Groton  and  the  neighboring  towns,  most  fre 
quently  in  obscure  and  lonely  localities,  sometimes 
hidden  in  the  shade  of  heavy  forest  trees,  and  covered 
by  dense  undergrowth  of  noxious  weeds  and  shrubs,  — 
the  undisturbed  home  of'  the  burrowing  wild  animal 
and  noisome  reptile. 

On  visiting  these  solitary  places  of  interment,  and 
reading  from  the  monuments  the  rudely  cut  epitaphs 
which  sometimes  breathe  a  spirit  of  resignation  and 
Christian  hope,  but  far  oftener  that  of  defiant  and  fiery 
indignation,  the  visitor  realizes  more  than  ever  before 
the  extent  of  the  desolation  and  woe  spread  through 
out  this  region  by  the  invasion  of  the  traitor. 

The  lamented  Frances  Manwaring  Caulkins,  in  ad 
dition  to  her  many  other  historical  and  antiquarian  la 
bors,  made  quite  extensive  researches  in  this  direction, 
the  results  of  which  she  designed  publishing  at  a  fu 
ture  day,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Stone  Records  of 
Groton." 

On  learning  that  the  present  work  was  in  prepara 
tion,  her  brother,  the  Hon.  Henry  P.  Haven,  verygen- 
erously  proffered  the  editor  the  privilege  of  consulting 
her  manuscripts,  which  have  been  of  much  assistance 
in  preparing  this  difficult  subject. 

At  some  considerable  pains  and  expense  I  have  pre 
pared  engravings  from  head-stones  in  the  various  rural 
cemeteries  of  the  vicinity,  where  the  dead  from  the 
battlefield  were  buried.  These  engravings  are  from 
photographs,  taken  after  each  line  and  dot  had  been 
carefully  retraced,  and  of  course  are  exact ;  and  give 
a  good  idea  of  the  graveyard  art  of  that  time.  The 
inscriptions  are  quaint,  homely,  and  characteristic  of 
a  simple,  honest,  and  open-minded  people.  It  requires 


Monumental  Records.  183 

only  a  limited  imagination  to  recall  —  in  part  at  least 
—  the  scenes  after  the  massacre.  Of  the  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  odd  men  who  were  in  the  fort  on  that 
6th  of  September,  almost  all  were  natives  of  New 
London  and  Groton,  and  most  fought  in  the  sight 
and  all  within  the  hearing  of  their  own  firesides. 
Their  wives  and  children  or  fathers  and  mothers  heard 
the  guns  they  fired  and  those  of  the  enemy  by  which 
they  died.  They  could  only  imagine  the  bayonet  stabs 
by  which  the  greater  portion  of  them  were  murdered 
after  the  surrender.  When  the  roar  of  cannon  and 
the  rattle  of  musketry  ceased,  and  they  knew  by  the 
curling  smoke  of  the  burning  town  that  the  invaders 
were  victors,  they  still  hoped  for  humanity  to  the  van 
quished.  Not  till  the  hostile  flag  at  the  mast-head  of 
the  British  fleet  disappeared  in  the  darkness  did  those 
friends  and  neighbors  gather  to  find  their  loved  ones 
dead  among  heaps  of  slain,  literally  butchered  by  the 
barbarism  of  a  civilized  people  worse  than  that  of  the 
savages.  How  easy  to  picture  men  and  women,  wives, 
mothers,  sweethearts,  fathers,  and  brothers,  examining 
the  faces  of  the  sleepers  to  find  the  dearest  idols  of 
the  heart  cold  in  death,  bathed  in  gore,  murdered  by 
brutal  enemies  ;  led  by  a  traitor  who  in  other  years 
had  known  every  foot  of  the  ground  so  bravely  con 
secrated  to  a  noble  memory.  Does  not  the  reader  see 
the  crowd  of  anxious  ones  all  that  long  night  after  the 
slaughter,  some  with  lanterns,  others  by  their  hands 
alone,  searching  for  their  household  treasures,  and,  hav 
ing  found  them,  tenderly  and  carefully  as  a  mother 
lays  her  infant  to  sleep,  carrying  the  still  bleeding 
body  on  the  rude  country-made  bier,  raised  on  the 
shoulders  of  old  men  and  boys,  to  the  near  or  distant 
home  for  burial  ?  So  they  went,  with  the  Allyns  north- 


184  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

ward  to  their  century  old,  family  graveyard  by  the 
river  bank,  with  the  Perkinses  and  Starrs  northeast 
ward,  with  the  Averys  and  Ledyards  south,  all  to 
their  final  resting-place,  —  burying  them  with  simple 
rites  and  uncovered  heads  among  their  ancestors  in 
the  almost  neglected  "  God's  acre,"  where  it  will  be 
an  honor  for  the  generations  of  all  time  to  lie  in 
ground  which  their  valor  defended,  which  their  free 
ly-given  lives  sanctified,  and  which  their  holy  dust  has 
forever  consecrated  to  liberty  and  patriotism. 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest ! 
When  spring,  with  dewy  ringers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 
Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 

"  By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung  ; 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung  ; 
There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay  ; 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there." 

About  four  hundred  and  fifty  yards  southeast  from 
the  fort  is  the  grave  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  whose  name 
has  been  given  to  the  cemetery,  which  was  formerly 
known  as  that  of  Packer's  Rock,  from  the  high  ledge 
upon  its  eastern  border.  In  1854  the  State  appropri 
ated  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  suit 
able  memorial  to  the  martyr.  His  remains,  with  those 
of  his  wife  and  children,  were  removed  a  few  yards  to 
the  west,  near  the  centre  of  the  ground,  and  a  beautiful 
monument,  cut  from  native  granite,  was  erected  over 
his  grave. 

It  is  inclosed  by  an  iron  railing  supported  by  posts 
appropriately  cast  in  the  form  of  cannon.  Within  the 


Monumental  Records.  185 

inclosure  are  the  remains  of  the  slab  of  blue  slate 
which  originally  marked  the  grave  ;  it  is  now  nearly 
destroyed,  and  the  inscription  rendered  illegible  by  the 
vandalism  of  the  relic  hunter.  On  the  west  face  of 
the  monument,  upon  the  shaft,  an  unsheathed  sabre  is 
carved  in  relief;  below,  upon  the  sub-base,  in  raised 
letters,  is  the  name  LEDYARD,  and  on  the  die  is  the 
following  inscription  :  — 

Sons  of  Connecticut 

Behold  this  Monument  and  learn  to  emulate 
the  virtue  valor  and  Patriotism  of  your  ancestors. 

The  south  face  bears  the  following:  - 
ERECTED    IN    1854 


By  the  State  of  Connecticut  in  remembrance  of  the 
painful  events  that  took  place  in  this  neighborhood 

during  the  war  of  the  Revolution  ; 

It  commemorates  the  Burning  of  New  London, 

the  Storming  of  Groton  Fort  the  Massacre  of 

the  Garrison  and  the  slaughter  of  Ledyard  the 

brave  Commander  of  these  posts  who  was  slain 

by  the  Conquerors  with  his  own  Sword. 


He  fell  in  the  service  of  his  country 
Fearless  of  death  and  prepared  to  die. 


THE    LEDYARO    MONUMENT 

ERECTED    BY    THE    STATE    OF    CONNECTICUT   TO    COMMEMORATE   THE    BURNING 

OF   NEW   LONDON,   THE  STORMING   OF  GROTON    FORT,   THE   MASSACRE 

OK   THE  GARRISON,    AND  THE   SLAUGHTER  OF   LEDYARD. 


Monumental  Records. 


i87 


On  the  north  :  - 

Copy  of  the  Inscription  on   the  Head-Stone  originally 
erected  over  the  Grave  of  Colonel  Ledyard. 

Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  WILLIAM  LEDYARD  Efqr 
Col'Commandantof  the  Garrifoned  ports  of  New  London 
&  Groton ;  Who  after  a  gallant  defence,was  with  a  part  of 
the  brave  Garrifon,inhumanly  Maffacred;  by  britifh  troops 

in  Fort  Griswold,  Sep  6  1781  ^tatis  suae  43 
By  a  judicious  &  Faithful  difcharge  of  the  various  duties 
of  his  Station,  He  rendered  moft  efential  Service  to  his 
Country;  and  flood  confeffed,  the  unfhaken  Patriot; 
and  intrepid  Hero.     He  lived,  the  Pattern  of  Magna 
nimity  ;  Courtefy,  and  Humanity.     He  fell  the  Victim 
of  ungenerous  Rage  and  Cruelty. 

A  few  yards  from  the  monument  of  Colonel  Ledyard 
are  the  following  inscriptions :  — 


1 88  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Here  Lies  ye  Body  of 
Mr  Eldredge  Chefter  fon  of  Mr  Thomas 
Chefter  who  was  wound 
ed  in  fort  Griswold  fep1 
6lh  1781  and  died  of  his  wounds  dec  31"  in 
ye  24"'  year  of  his  Age. 

Relentlefs  was  my  foe,  Deaths  weapons  through 
me  went,  Fell  by  ye  Fatal  blow,  Lingered 
till  life  was  Spent. 


Monumental  Records.  189 


In  Memory  of  Lieu' 

Ebenezer   Avery   who 

fell  Glorioufly  in  Defence 

of  fort  Grifwould  and 

American  Freedom 

fep'  6lh  1781  in  ye  49th 

year  of  his  Age 


Exhibiting  a  noble  Specimen 

of  Military  Valour 
and  Patriotic  Virtue. 


Sacred 

to  the  memory  of 

Cap'  John  Williams 

who  fell  glorioufly 

fighting  for  the 

liberty  of  his  country 

in  Fort  Grifwold 

Sep  6  1781  in  the 

43rd  year  of  his  age. 

*         #         * 

Ye  patriot  friends  that  weep  my  fate 
As  if  untimely  Jlain, 
Faith  binds  my  foul  to  Jefuf's  breajl 
And  turns  my  lofs  to  gain. 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  Memory  of 

Cap'  YOUNGS  LEDYARD 

who  was  mortally  wounded 

making  heroic  exertions 

for  the  defence  of 

Fort  Grifwold  Sepr  6th 

of  which  he  died 

the  7th  AD  :  1781 

in  the  31"  year  of  his  Age. 


ORIGINAL  HEADSTONE   AT  COLONEL   LEDYARD'S  GRAVE, 
AS  AT   PRESENT   LEFT   BY   RELIC   HUNTERS. 


Monumental  Records. 


191 


In  the  Starr  Burial  Ground,  on  the  North   Road,  in 
Groton :  — 


192 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


In  Memory  of 

MR  HENERY  WOODBRIDGE 

who  was  flain  in  Fort 

Grifwould  Sep1  6th  1 78 1 

in  the  33d  year 

of  his  Age. 

Will  not  a  day  of  reckoning  come 
does  not  my  blood  for  vengeance  cry 
how  will  thofe  wretches  bear  their  doon 
who  hafl  me  flain  mojl  Murderoufly. 


Monumental  Records. 


193 


194 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


In  Memory  of 
THOMAS  STARR  Ju" 

who  was  Jlain  in 

Fort  Grifwold  Sep  6th  1781 

in  the  ig"1  year 

of  his  age. 


Monumental  Records. 


195 


About  one  mile  north  of  the  Starr  Cemetery,  on  the 
same  road,  in  a  small  inclosure,  known  as  the  Wood 
Burial  Ground,  is  a  stone  bearing  the  following  inscrip 
tion  :  — 


The  following  is  in  the  "  Old  Cemetery  "  near  Gale's 
Ferry :  — 

In  Memory  of 

M"  RUFUS   HURLBUT 

Who  fell  in  the  bloody 

Committed  by  Benedict  Arnolds  troops 

Massacre*  at  Fort  Grifwould 

Septber  the  6th  1781  in  the  4Oth 

year  of  his  Age. 

Reader  confider  how  I  fell 
For  Liberty  I  blead 
Oh  then  repent  ye  Sons  of  hell 
For  the  innocent  blood  you  fhead 


196  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  the  old  Ground  at  Allyn's  Point  in  Ledyard 


:f  I 


Monumental  Records. 


197 


:^P^i"L  -i'i. 

Sf  :  T-*.      ' 

•KV       /  xi   •  " 


Jv^'.i>f-..ould  witc  fc's 
fff\Enf;1«.,j-«Iaie«tji 
ki.slloralvliords  m.irifrirjSCcrpsi^a/ 
Ri"i..y  37 '-year if lu, 
KsiByGadiifTiroi  my  I: 
ITi  iNVnre  fixt  ^h«  time  y    •  §A 
••  3plarc  llmyfh  much  ConfuH*^ 


In  the  Turner  Ground  in  Ledyard :  — 

In  Memory  of  Mr 
Mofes  Jones  who  was 
flain  in  foArt  Grifwould 
fep'  6th  1781  in  ye  25"" 

year  of  his  Age 

Will  not  a  day  of  Rec 
oning  come,  Does  not 
my  blood  for  vengeance 
Cry  ?     How  will  thofe 
Wretches  bear  their 
Doom  who  hath  me 
Slain  Moft  Murderoufly 


198  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  Memory  of  Mr  Jofeph 

Moxley  who  Died  feptr 

6th  1781,  in  fort  Griswould 

by  traitor  arnolds 

murdering  Corps  in  ye 

46th  year  of  his  Age. 

By  Gods  decree  my 
bounds  ware  fixt,  the 
time  the  place,  the  means 
though  vile,  &  whilft  I  blead, 
the  views  of  blifs,  Faith 
triumphed  over  Monfter  Death. 


Near    Morgan's    Pond    (or   Sandy    Hollow),    Led- 
yard  :  — 

In  Memory  of  Mr  Simeon 

Morgan  who  died  fepr  6th 
1781  in  fort  Grifwould  by  trai 
tor  arnolds  murdering  Corps 

in  ye  27h  year  of  his  Age. 

This  Blooming  youth  in 
fweets  of  life,  his  God 
doth  Call  while  Cannon 
roar,  a  winged  dart 
doth  feafe  his  breath, 
&  takes  him  from 
this  Golden  fhore. 


Momimental  Records.  199 

In  Memory  of  Enf " 

John  Lefter  who  died 

fepr  6th  1 78 1  in  fort 

Grifwould  by  traitor 

Arnolds  murdering  Corps 

in  ye  42d  year  of  his  Age. 

By  Gods  decree  my  bounds 
ware  fixt,  the  time  ye 
place  though  much  Confufd, 
the  Caufe  was  good  ye 
means  was  vile,  Snatchd 
me  from  Charms  of 
Golden  Life 


In  Memory  of  Mr 

Andrew  Baker  who  Died 

fepr  6th  1781  in  fourt  Grif 

would  by  Traitor  Arnolds 

Murdering  Corps  in  the 

26th  year  of  his  Age. 

This  gallant  youth  while 
Cannons  roar,  Decreed  by 
God  to  live  no  more 
a  fudden  dart  by  mur 
dering  hands,  Death  Ceafed 
his  life  at  Gods  Command. 


2OO  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  Memory  of 

Lieut  Jofeph  Lewis  who 

died  feptr  6th  1781  In  fourt 

Grifwould  by  traitor  Arnolds 

murdering  Corps  in  ye  41" 

year  of  his  Age. 

This  gallant  man  when  God 
Doth  call  doth  give  his  life 
in  freedoms  caufe  ;  a  fudden 
dart  doth  wing  away  that 
precious  life  that  dwells 
in  Clay.  • 


In  the  "  Old  Palmer  Ground,"  near  the  head  of  Pal 
mer's  Cove,  at  Noank,  is  the  following  :  — 

In  Memory  of  Mr 

David  Palmer  who 

was  flain  in  Fort 

Grifwould  fep  6th 

1781  in  yc  38 
year  of  his  Age. 


Monumental  Records.  201 

In  the  "  Old  Ground  "  at  Poquonoc  :  — 

Sacred  to  the 

Memory  of  Mr 

Thomas  Avery 

fon  to  Park  Avery 

Jnr  who  made 

his  exit  in  fort 

Grifwould  fep' 

6th  1781  Aged 

1 7  years. 

Life  how  fhort  Eternity 
how  long. 


In  Memory  of  Enfign 

Daniel  Avery  who 

nobly  nobly  Sa 

crificed  his  Life 

in  Defence  of  fort 

Grifwould  &  the 

Liberties  of  America 

fep'  6  1781  in  y° 
41*'  year  of  his  Age. 


202  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  Memory  of  Mr 

Solomon  Avery 

who  was  flam  in 

fort  Grifwould  by 

the  britifh  troops 

fep'  6th  1781  in 

ye  33d  year  of 

his  Age. 


In  Memory  of  Mr 
Patric  Ward  who 

fell  a  victim  to 

Britifh  cruelty  in  fort 

Grifwould  fep1  6th 

i;8ijn  ye  25th 

year  of  his  Age 


In  Memory  of 

Mr  Elifha  Avery 

who  was  flain  in  fort  Grifwould 

fep'  6  1781  in 

ye  26th  year  of 

his  Age. 

It  is  appointed 

for  man  once 

to  die. 


Monumental  Records. 

In  Memory  of 

Mr  Jafper  A  very 

who  was  flain  in  fort 

Grifwould  in  defence 

of  his  Countrys 

freedom  fep'  6lh 

1781  in  ye  38*  year 

of  his  Age. 

This  life  uncer 

tain  but  Death 

comes  to  all 


203 


204 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


In   the   Old  Ground  at   Burnett's  Corners,  in  Gro 
ton:  — 

In  memory  of  Cap* 

Hubbard  Burrows 

who  was  killed 

in  Fort  Grifwold 

Sept  6th  1781 

in  the  42"*  year 

of  his  age. 


Monumental  Records.  205 

In 

Memory  of 

JOHN  P  BABCOCK 

who  together  with  a  small 

party  of  Americans  in 

Fort  Griswold  withstood 

an  Assault  made  by  a 

Detachment  of 

British  Troops 

until  being  overcome 

by  superior  numbers 

he  was  Massacred 

Sep1  6th  1781 

M  30  years. 


In  the  White  Hall  Ground,  on  Mystic  River,  in  the 
town  of  Stonington  :  - 

In  Memory  of  Mr 

Thomas  Williams 

who  was  killd  in 

fourt  Grifwould 

fepr  6th 

AD  1781 

in  ye  6oth  year 

of  his  age. 


206  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

The  following  inscription  is  in  the  private  ground 
of  Seth  Williams,  Esq.,  on  the  "  Norwich  and  Mystic 
road,"  in  the  town  of  Ledyard  :  - 

In  Memory  of 

Lieut  Henry  Williams 

fon  of  Cap'  Henry  Williams 

&  Mary  his  Wife 

who  fell  at  Fort 

Grifwold  Sep  6th  1781 

in  the  32d  year  of 

his  age. 


In  the  First  Ground  in  New  London  are  those  given 
below  :  — 

In  Memory  of 

Mr  John  Holt  Junr 

who  was  flain  in  Fort 

Grifwold  fep  6th  1781 

in  the  35  year  of  his  age. 


In  Memory 

of  Mr  John  Clark  who  departed 

this  life  Sept  6th  1781 

aged  34. 


Monumental  Records. 


20: 


•/h  memory.  of    Cjp* 

^cfdiu  *Shdc)1ey  o/"  /orl 

ThimbuU  *ho  bravely 

dvc  his  .Zife  f&r  his 

Coirhtry  d  fdlal  Wound 
'Fun   Gnswold  &p'  6* 
S:)  c.m-cd  his  DfJ 
1782 


ihy  deed   reverse 
Common    doom 
tndke  *hy  name    !> 
orial,  TIV  <:  *cn;i;.          , 


ADAM  SHATLEY,  Captain  of  Artillery,  had  been  for  a  mimlxjr  of  years  commander 
of  Fort  Trumbull.  On  the  approach  of  the  invaders  he  rallied  his  men,  and 
made  as  good  a  defence  as  possible  with  his  garrison  of  twenty-three,  discharg 
ing  grape  at  the  advancing  columns  until  they  had  gained  the  unprotected  rear 
of  the  fort,  which  he  then  abandoned.  Embarking  with  his  men  in  three  boats, 
he  crossed  under  fire  to  Groton,  losing  in  the  passage  one  boat  with  six  men, 
half  its  crew  being  wounded.  With  those  from  the  other  boats  he  reinforced 
Fort  Griswold,  where  most  of  the  men  were  killed  and  he  received  a  fatal 
wound.  He  was  of  an  old  family  in  New  London,  where  the  name  is  now  ex 
tinct.  They  lived  on  Shaplcy  Street,  which  was  laid  out  in  1747  through  their 
property.  A  number  of  the  Shapley  houses  are  still  standing.  In  one  of  them, 
which  is  almost  unchanged  at  the  present  time,  Adam  lived.  Here  he  lan 
guished  for  five  weary  months  of  his  wound,  receiving  during  that  time  the 
news  of  the  death  of  his  oldest  son  on  one  of  the  British  prison  ships. 


208 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


JONATHAN    FOX. 

Of  this  man  little  seems  to  be  known,  as  his  name  is  not  in  the  list  of  Rufus  Avery 
or  of  the  Connecticut  Gazette.  He  was  probably  one  of  those  killed  on  the 
New  London  side.  A  man  of  the  same  name  was  one  of  the  volunteers  who 
marched  from  New  London  in  response  to  the  Lexington  alarm,  April,  1775. 


Monumental  Records. 


209 


LIEUT.    RICHARD    CHAPMAN. 
'4 


2io  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

In  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery,  New  London.  This 
stone  was  removed  from  the  Old  Ground  a  few  years 

since :  — 

In  Memory  of 

Cap'  PETER  RICHARDS 
who  was  willing  to  Hazzard 

every  danger  in  defence 
of  American  Independence 

was  a  Volunteer  in 
Fort  Grifwold  at  Groton 

the  6th  of  fept  1781 

and  there  Slain  in  the 

28  year  of  his  Age. 

In  the  Old  Stanton  Burial  Ground,  in  Stonington, 
are  buried  in  one  grave  two  brothers  ;  their  monu 
ment  bears  the  following  inscription  :  — 

Lieut  Enoch  Stanton  died 

in  ye  36th  year  of 

his  Age 


Serg'  Daniel  Stanton  died 

in  ye  26th  year  of 

his  Age. 


Here  intered  are  the  bodies  of  two  brothers 

Sons  of  Cap'  Phineas  Stanton  and 

Elizabeth  his  wife,  who  fell  with  many 

of  their  friends  Sep'  6th   1 78 1 ,  while  man 

fully  fighting  for  the  liberty  of  their  country 

and  in  defence  of  Fort  Grifwould. 

The  affailants  were  troops  commanded 

by  that  moft  defpicable  parricide, 

Benedict  Arnold. 


Monumental  Records  i  \  i 

In  the  Burial  Ground  near  Comstock's  Wharf,  in  the 
town  of  Montville,  is  a  fine  granite  monument,  bearing 
the  following :  — 

Erected  By 

Eobert  Comstock  Esq 

to  the  Memory  of 

his  Grandfather 

JAMES  COMSTOCK 

who  bravely  fell 

in  Fort  Griswold 

in  the  Service  of  his  Country 

Sept  6  1783  [1] 

Aged  75. 

A  signal  example  of  valor 
Patriotism  and  heroic  virtue. 


In  the  Old  Ground  on  Saybrook  Point : 

Daniel  Son  of 

Cap'  Charles  & 

Mrs  Temparence 

Williams 
who  fell  in  the  Action 

in  Fort  Grifvvould 

on  Groton  hill  on  the 

6th  of  Septr  1781 

in  the  is"1  year 

of  his  Age. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

OF  many  of  the  brave  men  who  risked  their  lives 
in  defence  of  Fort  Griswold,  little  is  now  known 
beyond  their  bare  names  and  the  fact  of  the  sacrifice 
of  their  lives  for  the  cause  of  their  country  on  that 
fatal  6th  of  September,  1781.  Of  others  I  have  been 
able  to  learn  comparatively  little.  The  deaths  of  so 
many  heads  of  families,  and  the  almost  universal  pov 
erty  of  the  people  after  a  long  and  exhausting  war, 
hopelessly  scattered*  many  families.  Such  records  and 
family  traditions  as  seem  to  me  important  and  relia 
ble  I  have  embodied  in  the  following  memoirs,  with 
the  aid  of  friends  who  have  supplied  similar  informa 
tion,  as  indicated  by  their  initials  in  the  text. 

COLONEL  WILLIAM  LEDYARD. 

William  Ledyard,  the  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth 
(Saltonstall)  Ledyard,  was  born  in  Groton,  Conn.,  in 
the  old  Ledyard  homestead,  near  the  site  of  the  mon 
ument  that  calls  the  traveller  to  mark  the  spot  where 
was  performed  one  of  the  most  inhuman  and  disgrace 
ful  acts  ever  known  in  civilized  or  barbarous  warfare. 
Much  of  tradition  has  been  circulated  concerning  this 
man,  who  by  his  tragic  death  became  the  property  of 
the  nation  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  heroes 
of  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  form,  good 
education  for  the  times,  unassuming  in  his  manners, 


Biographical  Sketches.  2 1 3 

possessed  of  great  executive  ability,  and  could  be  de 
pended  on  in  cases  of  emergency.  These  traits  of 
character  naturally  brought  him  to  the  surface,  and 
the  people  by  intuition  sought  him  out  for  prominent 
usefulness  in  religious,  civil,  and  military  life,  —  and  he 
never  failed  in  the  church,  the  state,  and  the  field. 
He  married  Miss  Anna  Williams,  daughter  of  Na 
thaniel  and  Amey  (Hewitt)  Williams,  of  Stonington, 
by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  seven  surviving  him, 
one  of  whom  was  only  ten  days  old  on  the  day  of  the 
slaughter.1  He  was  named  Charles,  and  died  in  1789, 
a  few  hours  before  his  mother,  and  by  her  special  re 
quest  was  buried  in  her  arms. 

The  edict  of  Parliament  to  close  the  port  of  Boston 
roused  general  indignation,  protest,  and  sympathy. 
Grofon  was  not  behind,  and,  in  a  public  meeting  to 
consider  the  issue,  June  20,  1774,  William  Ledyard 
was  chosen  the  first  member  of  a  committee  of  corre 
spondence,  with  a  view  to  some  united  effort.  No 
vember  22,  1775,  orders  were  issued  to  erect  Fort 
Griswold,  and  July  3,  1776,  he  was  appointed  captain 
of  a  company  of  artillery  and  commander  of  the  fort. 
In  March,  1778,  his  command  was  extended  to  cover 
New  London,  Groton,  and  Stonington,  with  the  rank 
of  major ;  and  under  his  direction  the  works  were  re 
paired  and  additional  batteries  erected.  July  5,  1779, 
the  whole  coast  in  this  section  was  stirred  with  the  ex 
pectation  of  an  attack,  but  so  well  were  they  prepared 
under  his  direction  that  the  enemy  turned  away  and 
made  New  Haven  the  objective  point. 

September   6,   1781,  early  in    the   morning,   it  was 

1  Mrs.  Ledyard,  with  her  babe,  was  taken  early  in  the  morning,  on  her 
bed,  aboard  a  barge,  and  sent  up  the  Thames  River,  to  be  out  of  reach 
of  harm.  —  A. 


2 1 4  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

noticed  that  the  enemy  were  bearing  down  on  New 
London  harbor  with  thirty-two  sail.  Signal  guns  were 
fired  to  give  the  alarm,  but  the  traitor  was  on  board 
one  ship,  and  the  report  of  another  gun  misled  the 
people  in  the  surrounding  country.  But  Colonel  Led- 
yard  lost  no  time  in  dispatching  messengers  to  Gov 
ernor  Trumbull,  at  Lebanon,  and  to  the  various  mili 
tary  companies  near  at  hand,  and  improved  every  mo 
ment  for  the  disposition  of  his  few  defenders,  plan 
ning  every  move,  and  as  far  as  possible  preparing  for 
every  emergency,  and  did  all  he  could  to  protect  New 
London.  He  stood  by  the  shore,  passed  some  words 
of  cheer  to  the  anxious  crowd,  and,  stepping  into  the 
boat  to  cross  the  ferry,  he  bade  them  good-morning, 
with  this  remark,  "  If  I  must  lose  honor  or  life  to-day 
you  who  know  me  best  can  tell  which  it  will  be." 
With  a  majestic  and  elastic  step  he  hurried  to  his 
command.  His  presence  and  his  buoyant  spirit  in 
spired  the  little  untrained  garrison  with  hope  and  cour 
age,  and  the  gallant  defence  they  made  rendered  them 
immortal  in  a  struggle  with  overpowering  numbers 
of  thoroughly  disciplined  and  experienced  soldiers. 
He  seemed  ubiquitous,  and  cheered  and  directed  the 
defenders  at  every  point.  History  has  assured  to  them 
and  to  him  the  just  praise  of  an  unparalleled  struggle 
and  an  unexcelled  exhibition  of  valor  and  courage. 
When  the  assailants  had  effected  an  entrance  in  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  his  unsupported  force,  he  could  only 
take  the  last  resort  of  military  necessity,  and  when 
asked  who  commanded  the  fort,  reply,  "  I  did,  but  you 
do  now,"  and,  turning  his  sword,  give  it  to  the  officer, 
who,  with  the  fury  of  a  demon,  plunged  it  into  his 
heart,  causing  instant  death  ; l  which  was  followed  by 

1  The  gradual  disappearance  of  landmarks  by  the  lapse  of  time  has  led 


Biographical  Sketches.  2 1 5 

a  carnage  that  history  blushes  to  record.  The  vest 
and  shirt  he  wore  on  that  fatal  day  are  preserved 
among  other  sacred  relics  in  the  Athenaeum  at  Hart 
ford,  and  the  cruel  rents  made  by  his  own  sword  in 
the  hands  of  the  victor  still  speak  in  eternal  condem 
nation  of  the  wretch  who  thus  murdered  one  of  the 
noblest  specimens  of  the  human  race.  Many  were  the 
distinguished  dead  that  were  left  in  that  fort,  but  none 
wore  a  calmer  or  more  serene  face  than  that  of  our 
hero. 

Upon  him  had  fallen  the  duty  of  maintaining  lib 
erty,  and  he  did  it  nobly  to  the  end.  He  suffered  the 
loss  of  all  things,  even  his  life,  for  his  country,  and  the 
man  who  for  personal  ambition  or  selfish  ends  preys 
on  the  national  interest  is  guilty  of  a  crime  equal  in 
character  to  the  act  of  that  infamous  English  officer. 

j.  L.  D. 

The  fac-simile  of  Colonel  Ledyard's  autograph, 
given  below,  was  engraved  from  a  letter  addressed  by 
him  to  the  selectmen  of  Lebanon,  directing  them  to 
send  to  Norwich  Landing  the  stores  they  had  col 
lected  for  public  service.  The  letter  is  dated  at  New 
London,  April  4,  1781. 


to  the  rise  of  a  theory  that  it  was  all  a  mistake  about  Ledyard  being 
killed  with  his  own  sword.  Certainly  no  one  raised  such  a  question  dur 
ing  the  lifetime  of  the  defenders,  at  least  four  of  whom  (A.  Gallup,  H. 
Sanford,  C.  Avery,  and  J.  Mason)  spoke  as  witnessing  the  killing  in  all 
its  bloody  brutality.  —  A. 


216  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

PHILIP   TURNER,    M.    D., 

SURGEON-GENERAL   EASTERN   DEPARTMENT  1 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1781,  when  the  startling 
news  had  reached  the  towns  contiguous  to  New  Lon 
don  and  Groton,  that  an  attack  had  been  made  on 
Fort  Griswold  by  the  British  troops,  under  the  com 
mand  of  the  traitor  Arnold  ;  that  many  of  the  gallant 
men  who  had  garrisoned  the  fort  had  been  slain,  and 
that  many  more  were  suffering  from  wounds  received 
in  the  bloody  conflict,  the  leading  physicians  of  the 
county  at  once  hastened  to  the  fort  to  render  the 
wounded  all  the  aid  that  medical  and  surgical  skill 
could  afford.  Among  them  stood  prominent  Doctor 
Philip  Turner,  of  Norwich.  At  the  request  of  Colo 
nel  Ledyard  he  had  made  professional  visits  to  Forts 
Trumbull  and  Griswold  prior  to  the  battle ;  and,  as  he 
was  not  only  a  conspicuous  figure  on  the  scene  imme 
diately  after  the  same,  but  also  stood  at  the  head  of 
his  profession  in  the  State,  a  brief  sketch  of  him  may 
with  propriety  be  inserted  in  a  history  of  the  stirring 
events  and  leading  actors  of  that  day. 

Dr.  Turner  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Humphrey 
Turner,  who  came  from  Essex,  England,  in  1630,  and 
settled  at  Scituate,  Mass.  His  father,  Philip  Turner, 
removed  from  Scituate  to  Norwich  in  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  on  the  25th  of  February,  1740.  His  par 
ents  dying  while  he  was  yet  young,  and  being  left 
without  means,  he  was  taken  into  the  family  and  un 
der  the  patronage  of  Dr.  Elisha  Tracy,  of  that  town, 
who  deservedly  stood  high  in  the  public  estimation 

1  The  portrait  accompanying  this  sketch  is  from  an  ivory  miniature  in 
possession  of  Hon.  John  Turner  Wait,  of  Norwich. 


Biographical  Sketches.  2 1 7 

for  his  scholarly  and  professional  attainments.  Here 
young  Turner  was  treated  with  parental  kindness,  and, 
at  a  suitable  age,  commenced  his  medical  studies  un 
der  the  direction  of  his  patron.  In  the  year  1759  he 
was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  to  a  provincial  regi 
ment  under  General  Amherst,  at  Ticonderoga.  His 
fine  personal  appearance,  pleasing  address,  and  su 
perior  talents  attracted  the  attention  of  the  English 
surgeons,  who  treated  him  with  great  courtesy,  and 
invited  him  to  witness  many  of  their  capital  opera 
tions.  It  was  from  the  information  and  practice  he 
obtained  in  this  school  that  he  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  future  eminence.  He  continued  with  the  army  till 
after  the  peace  of  1 763,  when  he  returned  to  the  house 
of  his  benefactor,  whose  eldest  daughter  he  soon  after 
married.  He  at  once  established  himself  in  Norwich, 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  devoting  his  attention 
especially  to  surgery. 

Possessed  of  a  vigorous  constitution,  and  stimulated 
by  an  honorable  ambition,  Dr.  Turner  was  indefatiga 
ble  in  his  exertions  to  excel  in  his  profession.  His 
unwavering  pursuit  to  attain  this  end,  in  connection 
with  the  peculiar  abilities  which  he  possessed,  soon 
won  success.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the 
Revolution  he  stood  unrivalled  as  a  surgeon  in  the 
eastern  section  of  the  country.  His  fame  was  not  con 
fined  to  the  limits  of  his  native  State,  for  he  was  re 
peatedly  called  beyond  the  borders  of  the  same  to  per 
form  operations  that  demanded  more  than  ordinary 
professional  skill.  He  was  the  first  surgeon  of  the 
Connecticut  troops  in  the  campaign  before  Boston. 
He  accompanied  the  army  to  New  York  in  1776,  and 
the  commission  then  issued  to  him  by  Governor  Trum- 
bull  is  now  in  the  possession  of  one  of  his  descend- 


:i  8  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

ants.  The  battles  of  Long  Island  and  White  Plains 
afforded  him  a  favorable  opportunity  to  display  his 
rare  ability  as  an  operator,  and  his  unvarying  success 
won  him  the  highest  reputation  with  the  troops.  In 
1777  Congress  appointed  Dr.  Turner  director-general, 
to  superintend  the  General  Hospital,  but  subsequently 
transferred  him  from  that  position  to  that  of  surgeon- 
general  of  the  Eastern  Department,  which  station  he 
filled  with  great  ability  till  near  the  close  of  the  war. 
On  retiring  from  the  army  he  resumed  his  private 
practice,  and  continued  in  the  same  with  undiminished 
reputation  until  1800,  when  he  removed  from  Norwich 
to  the  city  of  New  York.  Advanced  in  years  he  felt 
that  a  metropolitan  practice  would  be  easier  for  him 
to  pursue.  He  at  once  took  a  high  rank  among  the 
physicians  and  surgeons  of  that  city.  Shortly  after 
his  removal  he  was  appointed  a  surgeon  to  the  staff 
of  the  United  States  army,  and  given  the  medical  and 
surgical  care  of  the  troops  at  the  fortifications  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York.  This  very  honorable  and  re 
sponsible  position  he  held  until  his  death,  which  oc 
curred  on  the  20th  of  April,  1815,  in  the  seventy-fifth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried,  with  military  hon 
ors,  in  the  yard  connected  with  St.  Paul's  Church,  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  The  record  shows  that  he 
served  his  country  with  marked  distinction  in  the  war 
with  France,  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the  War  of 
1812. 

Although  Dr.  Turner  did  not  receive  a  liberal  edu 
cation,  he  had  naturally  a  keen  and  inquiring  mind 
and  scholarly  tastes,  so  that  by  his  own  efforts  he  early 
in  life  possessed  himself  of  acquirements  that  were 
valuable  to  him  in  his  profession.  He  had  an  intuitive 
capacity  that  adapted  him  for  the  profession  of  sur- 


Biographical  Sketches.  319 

gery,  and  won  him  his  great  reputation  as  an  operator. 
The  accuracy  of  his  judgment,  and  the  remarkable 
dexterity  of  his  hand,  enabled  him  to  perform  the  most 
difficult  operations  with  almost  unequalled  success. 
Dr.  Shippen,  who  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  his  pro 
fession  in  Philadelphia,  and  who  was  associated  with 
Dr.  Turner  in  the  army,  did  him  the  honor  to  say  that 
neither  in  Europe  nor  in  America  had  he  ever  seen 
an  operator  that  excelled  him.  j.  T.  w. 

The  following  account  is  from  the  manuscript  of 
Azel  or  (Asahel)  Woodworth.  Though  without  date, 
it  is  evident  this  was  written  about  1809.  It  is  treas 
ured  by  his  grand-daughter  as  a  precious  relic.  At 
the  time  of  the  battle,  he  was  fifteen  years  and  eleven 
months  old  :  - 

HONORED  SIR.  I  would  herein  state  that  I  was  born 
in  Norwich  in  the  County  of  New  London,  &  state  of 
Connecticut  in  October  1765.  In  July  -80  inlisted  in 
the  recruiting  service.  Served  a  tour  of  six  months 
under  the  auspices  of  the  illustrious  Washington,  re 
tired  from  the  grand  army  in  the  winter  &  inlisted  in 
the  Matross  company  commanded  by  Capt.  Wm.  La 
tham  stationed  at  Fort  Griswold  in  Groton  in  the  said 
Connecticut.  On  the  6th  of  Sept  1781,  said  fort  being 
taken  by  storm  by  a  detachment  of  British  troops  under 
command  of  General  Arnold,  in  defending  said  fort  I 
received  a  wound  by  a  musket  ball  passing  into  my 
neck  under  the  right  ear  &  out  along  by  the  spine 
which  cut  away  the  tendon  &  caused  my  head  to  re 
cline  on  my  left  shoulder.  For  a  short  interval  I  be 
came  insensible  but  being  partially  recovered  &  con 
tinuing  in  some  degree  of  mental  action  until  about 


22O  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

noon  the  next  day  when  my  faculties  retired  &  as  I 
was  told  returned  not  for  24  hours.  When  my  wound 
had  healed  &  the  term  of  my  inlistment  expired  I  ap^ 
plied  myself  to  manual  labor  to  obtain  support.  My 
head  being  deranged  by  my  wound  so  as  to  render  me 
incapable  of  progressing  by  study  in  the  knowledge  of 
useful  arts  which  my  father  was  very  desirous  to  further 
in  me,  he  deeming  it  not  likely  I  should  be  able  to  en 
dure  the  toils  of  common  labor.  Youthful  ambition  and 
the  considerations  of  the  expenses  of  the  war  suffered 
me  not  to  burden  my  country  with  claims  for  support 
for  a  number  of  years,  but  being  eventually  exhausted 
with  pains  and  frequent  suspensions  of  mental  faculties 
even  in  the  field  of  labor,  about  the  year  1 795  or  '96  I 
applied  for  &  obtained  a  pension  of  forty-five  dollars 
per  annum  and  having  a  family,  was  enabled  thereby  to 
keep  them  together  until  1 806,  when  embarrassed  with 
debt  and  unable  to  labor,  constantly  irritated  with  nerv 
ous  pain  to  the  privation  of  sleep  and  necessary  repose, 
and  unable  either  to  answer  the  demands  of  my  cred 
itors  or  the  necessities  of  my  family,  retired  in  confu 
sion  &  despair  from  all  I  held  dear  on  earth.  After  a 
year's  interval  returned  home  to  find  from  the  Honor 
able  Pierpont  Edwards  a  commission  for  Dr.  John 
Turner  &  John  Scott  to  examine  my  condition  as  af 
fected  by  my  wound,  which  I  think  took  place  two 
years  ago  last  July,  the  result  of  which  to  the  best  of  my 
remembrance  was  that  they  had  examined  my  case  & 
found  that  I  had  received  a  formidable  wound  in  my 
neck  which  cut  away  some  ligaments,  from  whence 
proceeded  a  train  of  nervous  spasmodic  affections 
which  rendered  me  almost  unable  to  perform  manual 
labor,  and  at  times  partially  deranged  in  my  mentals, 
that  at  present  I  was  a  wandering  person  dependent  in 


Biographical  Sketches.  221 

part  upon  the  bounty  of  my  country  for  support  &  in 
part  upon  the  charity  of  fortuitous  friends." 

He  died  June  8th,  1817.  Mr.  Woodworth  had  two 
children,  Phoebe,  and  Joseph  Ellery  Woodworth,  who 
was  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of  New  London. 
Zibe  Woodworth,  born  April  24,  1763,  a  brother  of 
Azel,  was  wounded  in  the  knee,  became  a  preacher, 
and  settled  at  Montpelier,  Vermont,  where  he  died. 
Thomas  Woodworth,  who  was  also  wounded,  seems 
(from  allusions  in  family  letters  which  I  have  been  al 
lowed  to  read)  to  have  been  an  uncle  of  Azel  and  Zibe. 

CAPTAIN  YOUNGS  LEDYARD,  a  nephew  of  Colonel 
Ledyard,  born  June  24th,  1751,  was  son  of  Youngs 
Ledyard  and  his  wife  Mary  (Avery),  who  after  the 
death  of  her  first  husband  married  Stephen  Billings 
(December  1 2,  1 765),  whose  son  Andrew  was  also  slain. 
In  the  "  Morgan  Genealogy,"  we  learn  "  Captain  Youngs 
Ledyard  and  his  brave  companions,  on  witnessing  this 
cold-blooded  butchery  (the  killing  of  Colonel  Ledyard), 
believing  no  quarter  or  mercy  was  to  be  expected,  and 
determined  to  avenge  the  barbarous  act  and  to  sell  their 
lives  as  dearly  as  possible,  again  rushed  into  combat 
and  were  cut  down  and  fell,  almost  to  a  man,  around 
the  corpse  of  their  beloved  commander." 

ANDREW  BILLINGS  lived  at  the  time  with  his  father 
near  the  Elder  Tuttle  Church  in  Ledyard.  He  started 
for  the  fort  in  response  to  the  alarm,  reaching  there 
after  the  gates  were  shut,  and  being  recognized,  a  rope 
was  thrown  to  him,  by  which  he  climbed  through  the 
embrasure,  being  the  last  man  to  enter  for  defence. 
His  brother  Stephen  was  in  the  army  with  General 
Washington  at  the  time. 


222  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

JAPHET  MASON,  a  house  carpenter,  living  on  what  is 
now  called  Old  Fort  Road,  New  London,  hearing  the 
alarm,  took  his  gun  from  its  hooks,  and  entered  Fort 
Trumbull  as  a  volunteer.  From  there  he  crossed  the 
river  to  Fort  Griswold,  with  his  brother-in-law,  Stephen 
Hempstead,  near  whom  he  was  standing  at  the  time 
of  the  killing  of  Ledyard,  and  saw  it  as  described. 

Seeing  there  was  no  quarter  to  be  expected,  he  fled 
and  escaped.  He  afterward  moved  to  Stephentown, 
New  York  State,  where  he  died  March  4,  1787,  after 
which  his  family  returned  to  New  London. 

MRS.  LOUISA  SANFORD  RUDE,  daughter  of  MR.  HOL- 
SEY  1  SANFORD,  furnishes  the  following  regarding  her 
father :  — 

"  He  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Sanford  of  Saybrook,  and 
was  serving  as  substitute  for  his  older  brother  John,  an 
enlisted  member  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Trumbull,  who 
being  tired  out  and  his  clothes  badly  worn  wished  to 
go  home  for  rest  and  have  his  clothing  repaired.  The 
officer  in  command  accepted  the  younger  brother  as 
substitute  for  a  few  weeks,  commencing  the  latter  part 
of  July,  he  having  trained  with  the  minute-men  of  his 
town,  though  not  yet  sixteen  years  old. 

"  On  the  morning  of  September  6th,  the  enemy  were 
seen  lying  off  the  harbor.  The  garrison  made  all  pos 
sible  preparation  to  resist,  but  many  faces  were  ashy 
pale,  they  were  so  few  in  number,  and  not  armed  and 
disciplined  to  resist  so  strong  a  foe,  but  every  man  was 
at  his  post. 

"  They  soon  took  to  their  boats  and  joined  those  at 
Fort  Griswold.  He  had  a  slight  wound  on  the  knee 

1  This  name  is  now  spelled  Halsey. 


Biographical  Sketches.  223 

from  a  ball,  and  though  not  otherwise  injured  he  was 
stained  with  human  blood  from  head  to  foot.  He  de 
scribed  the  killing  of  Colonel  Ledyard  as  an  eye-wit 
ness,  seeing  him  present  his  sword  by  the  point  and 
fall  by  the  thrust  of  it. 

"  He  with  others  then  fled  to  the  barracks,  where  many 
were  killed ;  his  life  was  saved  by  an  officer  who  or 
dered  off  a  man  who  had  made  a  thrust  at  him  with  a 
bayonet.  Being  carried  to  New  York  as  a  prisoner,  he 
was  confined  in  the  prison-ship  until  after  the  surren 
der  of  Cornwallis,  and  then  exchanged.  Mr.  Sanford 
was  born  October  10,  1765,  and  died  in  1845,  when  the 
local  paper  gave  a  short  sketch  of  him  as  one  of  the  de 
fenders  of  Fort  Griswold.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
had  five  sons  and  six  daughters,  two  of  whom,  Miriam 
Sanford  Searle  of  Easthampton,  Mass.,  and  Louisa  San- 
ford  Rude  of  Huntington,  Mass.,  are  still  living." 

WILLIAM  BOLTON.  Of  him  little  can  be  learned, 
except  he  was  buried  in  the  Old  Ground  at  New  Lon 
don,  though  his  descendants  live  here  still. 

JOHN  LESTER,  born  October  i3th,  1740,  one  of  the 
killed,  an  ensign  in  Simeon  Allyn's  Company,  was  a  far 
mer,  living  about  two  miles  from  Gale's  Ferry. 

BENJAMIN  BILL,  JR.,  had  a  pension  granted,  as 
"wounded  on  Sept.  6th  1781,  in  his  ankle,  while  acting 
as  private  in  the  State  Militia  opposing  the  British 
troops  under  Arnold."  He  is  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Downer  as  the  first  man  whose  wound  he  dressed. 

SAMUEL  BOOTH  HEMPSTEAF,  born  1755,  was  shot 
through  the  thigh  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Nonsense.  Six 


224  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

months  previous  his  brother  Daniel,  four  years  younger, 
had  died  on  the  prison-ship  Jersey.  Samuel  belonged 
to  one  of  the  privateers  then  in  port,  and  had  been  in 
the  United  States  Navy.  He  recovered  of  his  wound, 
though  it  cost  him  his  life,  when  as  captain  coming  out 
of  Martinique  in  1 795  he  was  chased  by  a  British  man- 
of-war  and  the  exertions  he  made  to  escape  caused  the 
old  wound  to  reopen,  ending  his  life  on  June  5. 

ANDREW  GALLUP,  an  artilleryman  of  the  regular  gar 
rison,  was,  while  working  his  gun  before  the  capture, 
struck  by  a  musket  ball  coming  through  the  embra 
sure  and  passing  through  his  hip.  He  says,  "  he 
would  have  had  another  shot  at  the  British  if  the  boy 
who  was  bringing  the  cartridge  from  the  magazine 
had  not  been  killed  and  himself  hit  before  another 
could  pick  up  and  bring  along  the  charge."  Then  he 
was  taken  away  from  his  post  at  the  gun,  laid  help 
less  on  the  ground  out  of  the  way  facing  the  north 
gate,  and  saw  while  lying  thus  the  enemy  march  in 
through  the  gateway,  and  Colonel  Ledyard  advance 
to  meet  the  officer  at  the  head  of  the  column,  to 
whose  inquiry,  "  Who  commands  this  post?"  Ledyard 
replied,  "  I  have,  but  you  do  now,"  at  the  same  time 
presenting  his  sword  by  the  point.  The  officer  seized 
and  instantly  drove  it  through  him.  Gallup  quite 
naturally  remarked  whenever  he  told  it,  "  I  'd  have 
given  anything  in  the  world  to  have  been  on  my  feet 
for  a  minute  then."  He  was  afterwards  stabbed  with 
a  bayonet  as  he  lay  helpless  on  the  ground  ;  the  point 
striking  a  rib,  glanced  to  one  side  around  his  body, 
making  a  long,  but  not  deep  wound,  leaving  a  large 
scar ;  also  stabbed  in  the  arm.  He  was  one  of  those 
who  were  put  in  the  wagon  and  chanced  to  be  near 


Biographical  Sketches.  225 

the  bottom,  but  recovered,  though  pieces  of  bone 
came  out  of  the  wound  in  the  hip  for  years.  He  died 
March  i6th,  1853,  nearly  ninety-two  years  old,  having 
been  born  in  June,  1761.  He  was  descended  from 
John  Gallop,  one  of  the  commanders  with  John  Ma 
son,  Jr.,  both  of  whom  were  killed  in  the  King  Phillip 
war ;  and  on  his  mother's  side  from  John  Mason,  a 
sword  of  whom  he  received  from  his  mother's  brother, 
Andrew  Mason,  a  son  of  Nehemiah  Mason,  who  was 
third  in  the  line  of  direct  descent  from  the  famous 
John,  the  exterminator  of  the  Pequots. 

Three  of  his  children  are  living,  with  two  of  whom 
I  have  conversed.  They  quite  agreed  in  their  ac 
counts,  though  it  so  happened  I  saw  them  separately. 

ROBERT  GALLUP,  son  of  Thomas  and  nephew  of 
Colonels  Benadam  and  Nathan  Gallup,  was  twice 
wounded  in  the  massacre  —  with  a  bayonet  and  felled 
to  the  ground  with  a  blow  by  a  musket.  On  attempt 
ing  to  rise  he  received  another  blow  which  broke  his 
hip,  and  rendered  him  insensible.  He  was  found  in 
this  condition  the  next  morning  by  his  mother,  who 
went  to  the  fort  searching  for  him.  He  eventually 
recovered,  and  was,  according  to  newspaper  authority, 
living  at  Greene,  in  Chenango  Co.,  New  York,  in  1853. 

THOMAS  LAMB  is  said  by  family  tradition  to  have 
been  quite  a  young  man,  unmarried,  and  a  son  of 
Thomas  Lamb,  of  Groton.  His  resting-place  is  un 
known,  probably  in  the  ancient  ground  on  "  Whitman 
Meeting  House  Hill,"  Groton. 

THOMAS  MINER,  a  descendant  of  Clement  Miner, 
one  of  the  earliest  New  London  settlers,  was  born 


226  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

September  17,  1751,  in  Bozrah.  He  was  a  ship-car 
penter  at  Gale's  Ferry.  A  large  number  of  his  de 
scendants  still  live  in  Groton. 

JOHN  PRENTIS,  who  lived  on  what  is  now  known  as 
Truman  Street,  left  his  children  on  the  morning  of 
September  6,  1781,  giving  his  eldest  daughter  orders 
to  take  the  children  to  his  brother's,  in  Chesterfield. 
He  joined  Captain  Shapley  at  Fort  Trumbull,  went 
with  him  to  Fort  Griswold,  was  slightly  wounded,  and, 
finding  no  quarter  was  being  given,  he  feigned  dead. 
His  hat  was  cut  through  in  several  places,  and  his  sil 
ver  shoe  and  knee  buckles  were  taken.  After  the 
British  left  he  crawled  from  the  place  where  he  had 
lain  among  the  dead,  and  gave  water  to  the  dying 
ones.  When  he  returned  to  New  London  next  day 
he  found  his  house  as  he  left  it,  except  a  bullet  hole 
through  the  front  door.  He  died  in  Richmond,  Va., 
1801. 

LIEUTENANT  WILLIAM  STARR,  son  of  Thomas  Starr, 
was  born  April  20,  1745.  He  was  the  leading  black 
smith  of  the  town,  and  manufactured  axes,  hoes,  plough 
shares,  spades,  forks,  and  other  agricultural  implements 
of  iron  for  the  farmers  of  the  place.  He  was  a  vol 
unteer  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Griswold.  At  the  time 
of  the  massacre,  he  ran  into  the  magazine,  where  he 
was  severely  wounded  by  an  ounce  musket  ball  strik 
ing  the  breast  bone  at  an  acute  angle,  passing  across 
his  body  under  the  skin,  along  his  extended  left  arm  to 
the  elbow,  where  it  was  taken  out  and  was  treasured  in 
an  old  desk,  till  a  young  grandson,  ignorant  of  its  his* 
tory,  lost  it  as  a  sinker  on  his  fish-line.  He  died  De 
cember  31,  1816. 


Biographical  Sketches.  227 

The  Pension  Report  says  :  "  William  Starr,  Q.  M. 
8th  Regt  Ct  Militia  placed  on  Pension  Rolls  Sept 
6th  1788.  Disabled  Sept  6Ih  1781." 

JOHN  STARR,  born  January  16,  1743,  was  a  brother 
of  Lieutenant  William.  Had  just  returned  from  Nova 
Scotia,  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave  on  ac 
count  of  his  loyalty  to  the  United  Colonies  ; .  and  in 
support  of  his  love  for  them  he  entered  the  fort  as  a 
volunteer,  where  he  received  a  wound  which  disabled 
his  right  arm  for  life.  He  afterward  moved  to  Ohio, 
near  Columbus,  where  he  died  in  1824. 

THOMAS  STARR,  JR.,  one  of  the  slain,  was  born  Jan 
uary  1 6,  1743,  the  eldest  child  of  Thomas,  another 
brother. 

NICHOLAS  STARR,  who  was  killed,  was  born  in  Nor 
wich,  January  10,  1741,  but,  living  in  Groton,  was  a 
volunteer.  He  was  a  cousin  of  William  and  John. 

WILLIAM  LATHAM,  JR.,  a  boy  of  twelve  or  fourteen, 
was  taken  to  the  fort  by  his  father,  Captain  William 
Latham,  who  said  "  he  might  be  serviceable  in  bring 
ing  ammunition  from  the  magazine,"  hence  he  is 
spoken  of  in  the  traditions  of  the  country  as  "  Pow 
der  monkey."  Being  mustered  with  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners,  he  asked  the  officer,  "  What  are  you  going 
to  do  with  me  ?  "  "  Let  you  run  home  to  your  mother, 
sonny,  if  you  '11  promise  not  to  grow  up  a  d — d  rebel," 
was  the  reply,  which  permit  he  accepted  at  once. 

Mrs.  Nathan  Moore  was  sent  by  her  husband,  Capt 
NATHAN  MOORE,  to  Norwich  on  a  barge  on  the  ap- 


228  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

proach  of  the  enemy  in  the  morning.  She  learned  of 
his  death  in  the  afternoon,  and  as  soon  as  possible 
obtained  a  horse  and  rode  to  Groton,  where  she  ar 
rived  at  twelve,  midnight.  He  commanded  a  priva 
teer,  which  was  at  that  time  lying  in  the  harbor,  he 
having  a  day  or  two  before  arrived  with  a  prize. 
There  is  little  doubt  but  his  remains  were  interred  in 
the  Ledyard  Cemetery. 

JOSHUA  BAKER,  who  was  born  1752,  lived  near  with 
his  family ;  was  one  of  the  scouts  sent  out  to  reconnoitre 
the  movements  of  the  enemy;  was  shot  at,  but  escaped 
into  the  fort.  He  was  wounded  in  the  massacre  by 
the  blow  of  a  musket  butt  aimed  at  his  head,  but, 
throwing  himself  backward,  received  it  by  the  side  of 
his  breast-bone,  breaking  all  the  ribs  on  that  side  loose 
from  it,  and  felling  him  as  if  dead.  From  lack  of  at 
tention  the  bones  joined  out  of  place,  leaving  his  chest 
badly  out  of  shape.  A  prisoner  in  the  Sugar  House 
in  New  York,  he  was  set  on  shore  in  New  Jersey  and 
tramped  home.  Mr.  Baker  was  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Ledyard  upwards  of  two  years,  and  was  the 
first  man  who  stood  sentry  at  Fort  Griswold.  He  fur 
nished  most  of  the  facts  regarding  this  battle,  as  noted 
in  "  Barber's  Historical  Collections."  He  died  Feb 
ruary  1 8,  1836,  aged  eighty-four.  His  children  were 
Joshua,  Elisha,  John,  Daniel,  Peter,  and  Annie.  His 
brother,  Andrew  Baker,  three  years  younger,  was  a 
member  of  the  garrison,  and  was  killed  outright  by 
his  side  during  the  fight.  He  lived  in  what  is  now 
Ledyard,  and  left  a  widow  and  one  child. 

August  15,  1781,  LEVI  DART,  of  Bolton,  enlisted  in 
the  artillery  company  of  Capt.  Adam  Shapley.  On 


Biographical  Sketches.  229 

the  appearance  of  the  enemy,  Corporal  Josiah  Smith 
was  ordered  to  select  seven  men  to  remain  and  spike 
the  guns.  Dart  was  one  of  these.  When  they  at 
tempted  to  follow  their  companions  across  the  river 
they  were  captured,  and  sent  on  board  the  frigate  Am- 
phion  ;  afterward  taken  to  New  York  and  confined  in 
the  Sugar  House,  where  they  remained  until  some 
time  in  October,  when  they  were  exchanged  and  landed 
at  Elizabethtown.  From  here  they  marched,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  Jabez  Stow,  to  New  London, 
by  the  way  of  Morristown,  King's  Ferry,  and  Bolton, 
returning  to  duty  under  a  Lieutenant  Durkee. 

On  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  he  went  to 
Coventry,  Conn.,  and  in  1800  to  Springfield,  Mass., 
where  he  was  living  in  1832,  aged  sixty-eight,  as  ap 
pears  by  his  pension  papers ;  among  which  is  the  state 
ment  of  a  friend,  seventy-two  years  old,  who,  "  living  in 
Bolton  in  1781,  well  knew  Levi  Dart,  who,  with  Elias 
Dart,  enlisted  that  year  and  went  to  New  London  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  summer.  It  was  reported  and 
believed  in  Bolton  that  said  Levi  and  Elias  were  both 
captured  by  the  enemy  in  the  attack  on  New  Lon 
don  and  Groton,  and  carried  prisoners  to  New  York 
city." 

LIEUTENANT  RICHARD  CHAPMAN  was  of  a  fearless 
and  resolute  family :  a  younger  brother,  Edward,  being 
killed  in  the  French  War;  his  older  brother,  Major 
James,  Jr.,  being  killed  at  Harlem  Plains,  September, 
1776;  while  his  younger  brothers,  John  and  Joseph, 
were  captains  in  the  sea  and  land  service  respectively. 
He  enlisted  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution 
ary  War,  and,  like  his  brothers,  rose  to  a  command. 
He  lived  in  a  house  then  standing  on  Hempstead 


230  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Street,  nearly  opposite  Franklin  Street,  and  was  at 
home  the  night  of  September  5th.  When  he  heard 
the  alarm  in  the  morning  he  went  to  an  upper  window 
looking  down  the  harbor,  and,  seeing  the  enemy's  ves 
sels,  ordered  his  sons,  Richard  and  Daniel  and  David, 
to  load  the  valuables  in  an  ox-cart  and  take  them, 
with  their  mother  and  two  sisters,  out  to  Cohanzie. 
He  repaired  to  Fort  Trumbull,  where  he  was  second 
in  command.  From  there  he  crossed  to  Groton.  When 
the  next  morning  came,  and  with  it  no  tidings  of  the 
lieutenant,  Mrs.  Chapman  sent  her  sons  to  Groton  to 
learn  their  father's  fate,  with  instructions  if  he  was 
dead  and  they  were  in  doubt  about  his  identity,  to  pull 
off  his  stockings  and  they  would  find  a  certain  toe 
missing.  This  was  what  they  were  compelled  to  do, 
so  disfigured  with  wounds  and  the  stains  of  battle  was 
the  body. 

Jonathan  Brooks,  whose  narrative  is  given  else 
where,  was  a  nephew  of  his,  and  received  from  his 
father,  who  was  the  coffin-maker  of  the  town,  a  cap 
and  sword  of  his  uncle  Richard,  which  Mrs.  Danforth, 
his  widow,  still  holds. 

JOSHUA  BILL,  one  of  the  brave  and  gallant  defend 
ers  of  Fort  Griswold  in  the  battle  occurring  Septem 
ber  6,  1781,  was  born  May  14,  1762,  and  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  Philip  Bill,  who  came  to  New  London 
about  1668.  We  are  not  in  possession  of  the  partic 
ulars  relating  to  the  part  he  took  in  the  sanguinary 
fight.  He  was  at  the  date  of  that  terrible  day  residing 
near  Allyn's  Point,  and  was  probably  one  of  the  "  min 
ute  men,"  and  in  response  to  the  understood  signal 
immediately  proceeded  to  the  fort,  entering  as  one  of 
the  garrison,  of  which  so  many  were  destined  to  be 


Biographical  Sketches.  231 

murdered  in  cold  blood  and  so  few  to  escape  uninjured 
During  the  British  attack  and  struggle  which  followed 
he  received  a  wound  in  the  leg,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
conflict  made  his  escape.  He  was  the  recipient  of  a 
government  pension  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
in  consequence  of  the  wound,  which  finally  became 
painful  and  troublesome.  After  marriage  with  Abigail 
Miner  he  resided  about  a  mile  in  a  southerly  direction 
from  Meeting-House  Hill,  in  Ledyard  (formerly  Gro- 
ton).  He  was,  we  believe,  a  member  of  Elder  Wight- 
man's  Church,  and  died  December  20,  1841,  in  the 
eightieth  year  of  his  age,  at  the  residence  of  his  son 
Gnrdon,  with  whom  he  was  then  living.  Of  his  chil 
dren  one  is  still  living,  namely,  Betsey  Bill  Darrow, 
residing  in  New  London. 

JOHN  DABOLL,  a  private  of  the  8th  Regiment  of  Mili 
tia,  came  with  others  of  his  company  at  the  first  alarm. 
He  was  living  at  the  time  on  the  Providence  turnpike, 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  ferry,  near  what  is  now  a 
family  burial  ground,  in  which  he  is  buried. 

Born  February  13,  1751,  a  grandson  of  Samuel, 
who  came  from  Easthampton,  L.  I.,  to  Groton  in  1718, 
he  was  a  cousin  of  "Master  Nathan  Daboll,"  the  au 
thor  of  the  arithmetic  and  almanac,  which  bear  the 
family  name. 

He  was  married  in  1774,  and  had  three  children  at 
the  time  of  the  battle  ;  afterward,  five  others.  His  wife 
died  April  2,  1803.  In  1804  he  married  widow  Sarah 
Halsey,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  David  Luther  and 
William  Vincent,  both  of  whom  are  now  living  in 
Providence,  R.  I.  The  following  incident  was  related 
to  the  writer  by  his  father,  who  had  it  from  the  lips  of 
the  hero  of  this  narrative. 


232  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

His  story  is  that  after  he  was  wounded  in  the  hand, 
he  was  knocked  down  by  a  blow  from  the  butt  of  a 
musket,  and  while  lying  faint  and  half  senseless,  a  sol 
dier  covered  him  with  his  bayonet,  threatening  to  run 
him  through.  At  this  moment  a  British  officer,  hear 
ing  him  beg  for  his  life,  knocked  the  gun  one  side, 
and  said,  "  There,  you  d — d  rebel,  I  have  saved  your 
life."  In  a  moment  of  gratitude  he  on  his  knees  thanked 
his  preserver,  saying,  "  I  thank  you,  sir ;  I  thank  you, 
sir."  He  was  paroled,  and  met  his  anxious  wife  on  the 
road  waiting  for  news  from  the  battle-field. 

A  leading  Baptist,  a  member  of  Elder  Wightman's 
church,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  struggle  that 
divided  every  town  in  the  State  previous  to  the  adop 
tion  of  the  present  Constitution,  on  the  question  of  tax 
ation  for  church  uses,  being  elected  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  in  opposition  to  the  then 
established  order. 

A  justice  of  the  peace,  he  was  otherwise  a  promi 
nent  man  in  the  councils  of  the  town,  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  May  7,  1825.  E.  v.  D. 

PETER  RICHARDS,  a  son  of  Guy  Richards,  was  a  lieu 
tenant  under  Captain  Hinman  in  Paul  Jones's  old  ship 
Alfred,  when  March  9,  1778,  she  was  surrendered  to 
the  Ariadne  and  Ceres.  He  with  two  other  lieuten 
ants  escaped  from  Fortune  Prison,  near  Portsmouth, 
and  by  the  aid  of  friends  reached  the  coast  of  France 
in  safety,  and  returned  home  in  the  spring  of  1 779.  He 
was  captain  of  the  privateer  brig  Hancock,  which  ar 
rived  in  port  the  last  day  of  August.  He  entered  the 
fort  as  a  volunteer,  at  Colonel  Ledyard's  solicitation. 
On  the  morning  of  the  battle  he  went  aboard  his  vessel, 
called  such  of  his  crew  as  remained  aboard,  made  a 


Biographical  Sketches.  233 

short  speech,  telling  what  was  needed  at  the  fort,  and 
asked  for  volunteers  to  accompany  him.  Every  man 
stepped  out. 

He  left  a  widow,  Catharine  (Mumford),  and  an  only 
daughter,  who  married  Levi  Huntington  of  Norwich. 

ELIJAH  RICHARDS,  born  1 734,  was  wounded  in  the 
defence  of  New  London,  and  died  of  his  wounds  Sep 
tember  2Oth.  His  house  on  Beach  Street  was  burned. 
He  was  a  cousin  of  Guy,  the  father  of  Peter. 

Among  the  crew  of  the  Hancock  was  CHRISTOPHER 
LATHAM,  who,  among  other  remembrances  of  the  day, 
carried  a  musket-ball  between  the  bones  of  his  fore 
arm  the  rest  of  his  life.  In  the  massacre  he  clinched 
and  threw  a  man  who  came  at  him  with  a  bayonet;  but 
the  bullet  disabling  one  arm  the  Englishman  got  away, 
and  knocked  him  senseless  with  the  butt  of  his  gun. 
Latham  was  paroled  and  left  at  home. 

• 

WILLIAM  LATHAM,  aged  sixteen,  from  near  Fort  Hill, 
was  wounded  by  a  bayonet  through  the  hand,  in  ward 
ing  off  the  blow  from  his  body,  and  carried  to  New 
York  as  prisoner.  He  died  January  29,  1849,  aged 
eighty-four.  Of  his  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom  lived 
to  be  married,  six  are  now  living  in  Groton,  namely, 
Henry,  Silas,  James  A.,  Abby  Jane  (Spicer),  John  D., 
and  Hannah  (Adams).  The  eldest  of  these  was  born 
in  1797  and  the  youngest  in  1816. 

RUFUS  HURLBUT,  son  of  John  Hurlbut,  from  near 
"  Hurlbut's,"  now  Gale's,  Ferry,  lived  at  that  time  close 
to  the  present  Gale's  Ferry  Church,  and  was  a  large 
landholder.  He  was  killed  after  the  surrender  by  a 


234  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

bayonet  wound  in  the  breast.  His  widow  died  in  1826, 
aged  eighty-nine.  A  large  number  of  his  descendants 
now  live  in  the  vicinity  of  Gale's  Ferry. 

SIMEON  MORGAN,  son  of  Captain  Joseph  Morgan 
and  Dorothy  Avery,  was  born  in  Groton  in  1754.  His 
eldest  sister  Dorothy  was  wife  of  John  Lester,  also  one 
of  the  slain. 

JOSEPH  MORGAN  30,  born  November,  1762,  nephew 
of  the  Simeon  above,  was  a  soldier  of  the  garrison,  and 
was  ordered  to  ride  "  express  "  to  rouse  the  militia,  since 
the  alarm  had  been  broken.  On  his  return  the  fight 
was  in  progress,  as  I  learn  from  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Minerva  Miner,  of  New  London. 

GARY  LEEDS  was  one  of  the  garrison,  who,  when 
the  enemy  obtained  possession,  leaped  from  the  wall, 
cleared  the  ditch,  outran  his  pursuers,  and  escaped, 
though  severely  wounded.  He  died  December  28, 
1781.  See  page  138. 

ELIJAH  BAILEY  was  ordered,  with  a  man  named 
Williams,  to  fire  the  field-piece  in  the  redoubt  at  the 
east  of  the  fort  as  long  as  possible,  and  then  abandon 
it  and  come  into  the  fort.  Bailey  stopped  to  spike  the 
gun,  and  arrived  after  Williams  had  entered  and  the 
gate  had  been  shut ;  so  he  ran  down  the  hill,  and  se 
creted  himself  in  a  corn-field,  thus  saving  his  life.  He 
was  afterward  postmaster  of  Groton  for  forty  years. 

EBENEZER  FISH,  living  on  Fort  Hill,  on  being  sure  of 
an  alarm,  took  his  flint-lock  gun  and  joined  those  in 
the  fort.  He  was  one  of  those  carried  away  prisoners, 


Biographical  Sketches.  235 

but  was  exchanged  in  about  three  months,  still  wearing 
the  clothes  he  wore  in  the  fight.  His  grandson  recalls 
now  the  horror  with  which  he  used  to  speak  of  his 
loathsome  condition.  He  moved  to  Ohio  in  1823, 
where  he  died  in  1827,  aged  seventy.  There  are  still 
living  in  Brooklyn,  Ohio,  his  children  :  Ebenezer,  now 
ninety-six,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  and 
was  with  Perry  on  Lake  Erie ;  Daniel,  aged  ninety- 
four;  and  Mrs.  Eunice  Fish  Boyden,  aged  ninety-one. 

DANIEL  WILLIAMS.  This  boy  was  in  Fort  Griswold 
as  a  substitute  for  a  man  by  the  name  of  Kirtland, 
who  had  been  drafted  from  the  Saybrook  Militia,  but 
whose  wife  being  sick,  he  was  excused,  and  Williams 
accepted  in  his  stead.  The  price  of  substitution  was 
a  hogshead  of  cider,  paid  to  his  father  by  Kirtland. 

He  arrived  at  the  fort  only  the  day  preceding  the 
battle,  and  was  killed  by  a  rifle-shot  while  passing  pow 
der  from  the  magazine  to  the  artillerists  before  the  as 
sault.1  He  was  the  youngest  of  the  garrison  of  whom 
there  remains  a  record.  His  name  does  not  appear 
upon  the  memorial  tablet  in  the  monument ;  why,  is 
not  understood.  The  only  reason  probable  is  either 
his  late  arrival,  followed  so  soon  by  the  battle,  or  being 
a  substitute,  his  true  name  was  not  enrolled. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  WILLIAMS,  one  of  the  killed,  was  born 
April  5,  1 739.  Living  near,  he  entered  the  fort  as  a  vol 
unteer,  leaving  his  wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Elnathan 
Perkins,  and  children  to  look  out  for  the  property. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  fight,  his  daughter 
Amcy  went  to  the  fort,  and  sought  out  her  father's 
body. 

1  See  Narrative  of  Andrew  Gallup. 


236  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

CAPTA!N  HUBBARD  BURROWS  was  ploughing  when 
Edward  Stanton  and  Thomas  Williams  rode  up ;  as 
suring  him  the  guns  were  an  alarm,  he  left  his  oxen 
on  the  plough,  ran  to  the  house  for  his  arms,  mounted 
with  his  son  John  S.,  to  bring  back  the  horse.  To.  his 
wife's  inquiry,  "  When  will  you  get  back  ?  "  he  replied, 
"  Good-by.  God  knows  !  " 

He  was  killed  on  the  east  parapet,  by  a  shot  through 
the  head.  He  was  found  by  his  son  the  next  day,  after 
turning  over  twenty-seven  bodies. 

SAMUEL  W.  JAQUES  is  said  by  his  daughter,  Mercy 
Jaques  Burdick,  of  Rockville,  R.  I.,  to  have  been  the 
only  member  of  the  garrison  who  escaped  uninjured, 
he  having  killed  his  antagonist  in  a  hand-to-hand  con 
flict,  and  then  fled,  jumped  from  the  wall,  and  got  away 
undiscovered. 

Mr.  Burdick,  referring  to  that  event,  says,  "  It  was  a 
source  of  grief  to  him  in  his  last  hours  that  he  won  his 
freedom  by  the  death  of  one  so  young  and  beautiful." 

He  was  born  in  Exeter,  R.  I.,  enlisted  in  the  army 
when  fourteen  years  old,  and  returned  home  after  the 
war,  a  man  grown.  He  married,  and  lived  in  Exeter 
until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

JOHN  HOLT,  we  learn,  was  a  ship-joiner,  at  that  time 
store-keeper  for  John  Deshon,  from  whose  store  he 
went  with  a  lot  of  powder  for  the  garrison,  among 
whom  he  was  slain. 

HENRY  MASON,  of  New  London,  like  others,  seeing 
the  uselessness  of  fighting  after  the  enemy  were  in  the 
fort,  jumped  off  the  parapet  and  ran  for  his  life,  escap 
ing  with  a  slight  bullet  wound  in  the  leg.  He  lived 


Biographical  Sketches.  237 

for  many  years  afterward,  and  followed  his  trade  in 
New  London,  where  he  died  April  24,  1836,  aged 
seventy-seven. 

BENAJAH  HOLDRIDGE,  it  is  said,  seeing  the  fate  of  his 
friends,  dropped  among  the  dead  and  wounded,  others 
falling  on  him.  He  lay  there  till  he  was  taken  up  with 
the  wounded  and  sent  down  the  hill  in  the  wagon,  and 
lived  many  years  near  the  Mystic  and  Stonington  line. 

Miss  Caulkins  says  that  some  attempted  to  leap 
over  the  parapets,  but  were  mostly  arrested  and  slain. 
One  man,  by  the  name  of  Malleson,1  escaped  in  this 
way  ;  being  tall,  stout,  and  active,  he  leaped  from  the 
platform  over  the  parapet,  and  with  another  bound 
cleared  the  pickets  and  came  down  in  the  ditch,  and 
though  half  a  dozen  muskets  were  discharged  at  him  he 
escaped  unhurt. 

DANIEL   CHESTER,  AND    HIS   BROTHERS    CHARLES 
AND    ELDREDGE. 

DANIEL  CHESTER,  who  was  killed  in  the  Massacre  of 
Fort  Griswold,  September  6,  1781,  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Chester  and  Sarah  (Elclredge)  his  wife.  He 
was  born  December  15,  1754,  at  Groton,  Conn. 
Thomas  Chester,  the  father,  was  the  son  of  John,  who 
was  the  son  of  Samuel  Chester,  commander,  owner,  and 
factor  in  the  West  India  trade,  who  came  to  New 
London  from  Boston  in  1663;  was  made  a  freeman 
in  New  London,  in  1669.  He  soon  after  moved  to 


1  This  was  Thomas  Malleson,  about  twenty  years  old,  a  member  of 
Captain  Allyn's  company.  Samuel  G.  Allyn,  of  Leclyard,  well  remembers 
him. 


238  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Groton,  where  he  was  much  employed  in  public  sur 
veys. 

SAMUEL  CHESTER  was  a  man  of  much  importance  in 
the  early  history  of  New  London,  and  from  him  were 
descended  all  the  Chesters  of  this  region,  including  his 
great  grandsons  Daniel,  Charles,  and  Eldredge,  heroes 
in  the  Groton  Massacre. 

DANIEL  CHESTER,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
brought  up  on  the  Chester  Farm,  situated  on  the  high 
est  part  of  the  hill,  about  one  mile  south  of  Fort  Gris- 
wold.  The  old  house,  from  which  the  brothers  Daniel, 
Charles,  and  Eldredge  went  to  the  battle,  still  stands 
on  its  ancient  site,  one  of  the  most  ancient  structures 
in  the  town.  It  had  been  the  home  of  the  Chester 
family  since  1732,  at  which  time  John  Chester,  the 
grandfather  of  the  heroes,  purchased  it  of  Jonathan 
A  very,  Jr.,  who  had  received  it  from  Jonathan  Avery, 
Sen.,  by  whom  it  was  built.  Daniel  was  one  of  the 
crew  of  the  privateer  Minerva,  Captain  Dudley  Sal- 
tonstall,  which  captured  the  prize  ship  Hannah,  bound 
to  New  York,  richly  ladea  with  cotton,  woollen,  and 
silk  goods,  whose  capture  is  thought  to  have  incensed 
the  British,  and  provoked  the  reprisal  which  resulted 
in  the  scenes  of  September  6. 

"  A  Corte  was  held  at  New  London  Thos  Shaw 
Judge  August  14 — 1790"  inventories  the  estate  of  Mr. 
Daniel  Chester,  late  of  Groton,  deceased,  that  was 
drawn  from  the  ship  Hannah,  with  the  sterling  price, 
to  the  amount  of  .£59  15  5^. 

A  list  of  the  articles  assigned  to  Daniel  as  his  share 
is  in  the  possession  of  E.  Starr  Chester,  of  Water- 
ford. 

Daniel  Chester  hastened  to  the  fort  on  the  morning 
of  September  6th,  and  was  killed  by  a  bayonet  stab  in 


Biographical  Sketches.  239 

the  massacre,  after  the  surrender,  being  nearly  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age.  He  was  unmarried. 

CHARLES  CHESTER  was  born  November  27,  1756. 
His  name  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  killed  and 
wounded,  but  it  appears  from  the  family  records  that 
he  was  in  the  fort,  and  was  taken  a  prisoner  to  New 
York.  Ebenezer  Ledyard,  Esq.,  brought  him  home 
soon  after,  with  others  of  the  prisoners  whom  the  Brit 
ish  gave  up. 

Augustin  Chester,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  his 
nephew,  gives  me  the  following  account  of  Charles 
Chester's  conduct  in  the  battle  :  — 

"  Charles  Chester,  seeing  his  two  brothers  killed, 
retained  his  gun,  and  seeing  that  the  massacre  was 
mostly  with  bayonets,  had  his  gun  loaded  and  re 
mained  on  the  breastworks,  where  his  brothers  lately 
stood,  and  as  one  of  the  soldiers  approached  him  with 
his  gun  for  a  bayonet  thrust,  he  retreated  to  keep  out 
of  his  reach,  then  jumped  on  to  the  barracks,  when 
the  soldier  snapped  his  gun  at  him,  but  it  missed  fire, 
when,  in  the  language  of  the  old  man,  as  he"  told  me 
himself,  '  I  did  shoot  him  down.'  Then  an  officer 
called  to  him  from  below  and  asked  him  if  he  was  not 
going  to  surrender.  He  replied,  '  Yes,  if  I  can  be 
protected,  but  not  without.'  The  officer  told  him  to 
come  down  then  and  he  should  be  protected.  Seeing 
that  this  officer  with  some  others  were  protecting  all 
that  came  to  them,  he  went  down  and  gave  up  his 
gun." 

He  married  and  lived  in  Preston,  where  he  died  in 
1829,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three. 

Ensign  ELDREDGE  CHESTER,  the  third  brother,  was 
born  June  7,  1758.  He  was  employed  on  his  father's 
farm.  At  the  sound  of  the  alarm  guns  on  the  morning 


240  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

of  the  6th,  he  took  his  gun  from  the  big  beam  in  the 
old  farm-house  kitchen,  and  hastened,  with  his  broth 
ers,  to  the  fort.  He  fell,  wounded.  Is  supposed  to  be 
one  of  those  who  were  gathered  in  the  house  of  Eben- 
ezer  Avery,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  He  was  shortly 
after  taken  to  his  father's  house,  where  he  lingered  a 
sufferer  through  the  autumn  and  a  portion  of  the  suc 
ceeding  winter,  and  died  of  his  injuries  December  31, 
1781,  in  his  twenty-fourth  year.  He  was  unmarried. 

On  the  list  of  Connecticut  Gazette  we  find  Jeremiah 
Chester;  on  that  of  Rufus  Avery,  Jedidiah  Chester; 
while  on  the  slab  in  the  monument,  Frederic  Chester. 
Undoubtedly  the  Jeremiah  and  Jedidiah  are  identical. 
and  refer  to  Jedidiah,  a  middle-aged  son  of  Abraham. 
In  answer  to  a  question  on  this  point  the  genealogist 
of  the  Chester  family  says :  "  I  can  find  nothing  in 
any  records  or  in  any  memory  of  such  a  man  as  Fred 
eric  Chester,  and  can  hardly  believe  there  was  such 
a  man.  I  think  it  should  have  been  Jedidiah  instead 
of  Frederic,  on  Groton  Monument  slab.  The  name 
seems  to  be  found  nowhere  else  with  any  authority." 

We  do  not  know  from  what  authorities  the  list  for 
the  monument  slab  was  made  up,  but  at  this  date  no 
trace  of  Frederic  Chester,  except  his  name  on  the 
monument,  can  be  found.  j.  j.  c. 

JOSEPH  MOXLEY,  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  of  a 
good  Scotch  family,  arrived  in  Groton  (now  Ledyard) 
when  he  was  eight  months  old. 

At  the  time  of  the  massacre  he  was  a  house-carpen 
ter,  at  work  on  a  new  house  for  Jonathan  Latham,  not 
far  from  the  Shore  Line  Ferry.  He  went  into  the  fort 
as  a  volunteer,  being  the  last  man  to  go  in  by  the 
north  gate,  those  from  Fort  Trumbull  coming  in  the 


Biographical  Sketches.  241 

south  one.  His  station  was  in  the  southwest  bastion, 
next  to  Samuel  Edgecomb.  Wounded  in  the  abdo 
men  by  a  bayonet,  he  was  one  of  those  put  in  the 
wagon,  and  died  that  night.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Horsford.  Their  children  were  Joseph,  Jonathan, 
Samuel,  Deborah,  Elizabeth,  and  Esther,  who  married 
Moses  Jones,  a  house-carpenter,  who  was  also  one  of 
the  killed,  leaving  two  children,  Esther  and  Deborah. 

JOSEPH  MOXLEY,  JR.,  about  nineteen  years  old,  at 
work  with  his  father  as  a  carpenter,  went  also  as  a 
volunteer  to  the  fort.  He  was  one  of  those  who  at 
tempted  to  save  themselves  in  the  magazine.  He  had 
a  musket  ball  pass  through  his  clothing  across  his 
stomach,  cutting  his  vest  in  pieces,  hurting  him  only 
by  the  shock.  He  afterward  jumped  off  the  wall  and 
escaped. 

JORDAN  FREEMAN.  He  was  the  colored  body  ser 
vant  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  and  was  buried  in  the  Led- 
yard  Cemetery.  He  is  credited  with  killing  Major 
Montgomery  with  a  spear,  though  in  some  accounts  he 
divides  that  honor  with  Lieutenant  Henry  Williams. 

LAMBO  LATHAM.  This  name  was  given  in  several 
places  in  the  first  edition  as  Sambo.  He  was  a  negro 
living  with  Jonathan  Latham,  father  of  Captain  Will 
iam  Latham,  at  their  residence  near  the  present  Shore 
Line  Ferry,  in  the  house  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Colonel  William  Mitchell,  a  grandson  of  Captain 
William  Latham.  When  the  enemy  landed  at  East 
ern  Point  on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  and  Captain 
Latham  was  hurrying  away  to  Fort  Griswold,  he  told 

his    wife    to    take    the    children    and    servants    away 
1 6 


242  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

through  the  Dark  Hollow  woods  to  the  house  of  her 
uncle,  Elder  Park  A  very,  on  the  margin  of  Poquonoc 
Plains.  The  farm  wagon  was  loaded  up  with  them, 
and  Lambo  drove  it  over  to  Elder  Avery's.  A  pas 
senger  in  that  wagon  says  that  amongst  the  articles 
composing  the  load  was  a  musket  which  Lambo  took 
and  hurried  back  with,  following  young  William  into 
the  fort. 

According  to  tradition  in  the  Latham  family,  Lambo 
fought  manfully  by  his  master's  side  up  to  the  time 
that  he  was  slain.  In  the  hottest  of  the  conflict  he 
stood  near  his  master,  loading  and  discharging  his  mus 
ket  with  great  rapidity,  even  after  he  had  been  se 
verely  wounded  in  one  of  his  hands.  When  Captain 
Latham  exclaimed,  "Stick  to  'em,  Lambo!"  "Yes, 
massa,  kill  'em  every  time  !  "  was  the  brave  man's  reply. 
On  the  tablet  in  the  monument  he  is  put  down  under 
the  now  common  negro  name  of  Sambo. 

ENSIGN  CHARLES  ELDREDGE,*  JR.,  was  born  in  Groton 
in  1 743,  where  he  was  living  in  his  house  on  the  east 
side  of  Main  Street,  at  the  foot  of  Coon  Hill,  and  keep 
ing  a  store  diagonally  across  the  street  south  of  his 
house.  These  were  both  burned. 

The  well  at  present  in  the  street  nearly  in  front  of 
the  location  of  his  house,  between  that  and  his  store, 
was  dug  by  him;  it  is  about  forty  feet  deep,  and  for 
more  than  a  century  has  slaked  the  thirst  of  man  and 
beast. 

An  ensign  in  the  local  militia  company,  he  entered 
the  fort  in  response  to  the  alarm.  Here  he  was  badly 
wounded  in  the  knee  by  a  bullet,  and  it  is  said  after 
ward  bought  his  life  with  a  gold  watch. 

1  This  name  is  also  spelled  Eldridge. 


Biographical  Sketches.  243 

He  was  married  first  in  1 764  to  Rachel  Avery.  It 
seems  probable  it  was  about  this  time  the  miniature 
was  painted  from  which  our  portrait  is  copied,  as  it  is 
accompanied  by  one  of  his  Avery  wife.  In  1778  he 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  Glorianna  Havens.  He 
was  buried  in  the  Eldredge  burying  ground,  near  the 
head  of  Mystic  River,  where  his  tombstone  says  :  — 

"  CHARLES  ELDRIDGE  ESQ.,  after  great  suffering  from 
a  wound  received  in  Fort  Griswold  Sept  6  1781  died 
Nov  20  1/98  aged  55  years." 

His  son  William  Eldridgc  was  the  last  surviving  one 
of  the  fire  land  commissione'rs,  who  surveyed  and  laid 
out  in  "  New  Connecticut,"  the  land  alloted  to  the  suf 
ferers  by  Arnold's  wanton  destruction  of  their  prop 
erty. 

DANIEL  ELDREDGE,  who  was  born  December  24, 
1758,  was  a  brother  of  Ensign  Charles;  being  also 
wounded,  was  carried  away  a  prisoner,  and  returned 
home  December  3d,  sick,  starved,  and  near  dead.  His 
family  tried  by  careful  feeding  to  restore  him  to  health; 
but  in  a  moment  when  they  were  off  guard,  he  reached 
a  bowl  of  "cider  and  suppawn,"  which  he  drank  at  a 
draught,  though  the  physician's  orders  were  a  spoonful 
only  at  a  time.  This  meal  was  too  much  for  his  ex 
hausted  system,  and  he  died  almost  at  once,  December 
u,  1781,  leaving  a  widow  Lucy  (Stanton). 

It  seems  highly  probable  there  were  two  of  this  name 
in  the  battle,  since  the  above  account  is  from  the  lips  of 
a  granddaughter  of  Charles  Eldridge,  a  most  interest 
ing  lady  over  ninety  years  old,  who  remembers  the  in 
cident  as  a  part  of  her  earliest  recollections  of  the 
family  history  of  their  sufferings  from  the  battle. 

In  the  list  of  paroled  wounded  left  at  home  we  find, 


244  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

"Daniel  Eldridge  shot  through  neck  and  face;"  and 
the  signature  of  Daniel  Eldredge  ist  appears  in  a  peti 
tion  of  the  wounded,  addressed  to  the  Legislature  of 
January,  1782,  whose  committee's  report  on  his  case  is 
given  elsewhere. 

In  the  list  of  recipients  of  fire  lands  we  find  "  Sergm 
Daniel  Eldridge,"  and  "  Daniel  Eldridge,"  with  losses 
of  about  the  amount  of  others  who  we  know  were  in 
the  battle,  whose  loss  consisted  of  the  property  they 
had  with  them.  No  list  of  prisoners  carried  away  has 
ever  been  made.  I  think  Daniel  Eldridge,  the  brother 
of  Charles,  was  one  of  these ;  and  the  Daniel  Eldredge 
who  is  on  the  list  of  paroled  and  in  the  report  of  the 
committee  is  one  with  the  man  who  I  learn  by  another 
family  history  was  wounded  in  the  fort,  but  recovered, 
and  afterwards  died  in  the  United  States  Naval  service 
at  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  whose  wife  was  Phoebe 
Franklin 

SKETCH   OF    THE    PERKINSES    WHO    WERE    IN    THE 
ACTION  AT  FORT  GRISWOLD,  SEPTEMBER   6xn,   1781. 

LUKE  PERKINS  was,  I  think,  the  son  of  Luke  Per 
kins,  Esq.,  a  local  notable  in  his  day  in  the  town  of 
Groton  and  vicinity.  He,  Luke  Sen.,  was  a  prominent 
man  in  the  Congregational  Church,  and  held  many 
public  trusts.  He  died  January  8,  1777,  in  the  eighty- 
first  year  of  his  age.  Luke  Perkins,  Jun.,  appears  on 
a  rate-bill  of  the  town  of  Groton,  in  1768,  with  an 
estate  of  £^.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  second  com 
pany  or  train  band  under  Captain  Robert  Allyn,  April 
22,  1749;  but  otherwise  I  find  no  trace  of  him.  The 
place  of  his  burial  is  unknown. 

ELNATHAN   PERKINS  was  a  well  to  do  farmer  in  his 


Biographical  Sketches.  245 

day,  living  upon  what  is  now  known  as  Brier  Hill,  in 
the  Second  School  District  of  Groton.  His  house  was 
situated  near  what  was  the  residence  of  the  late  Cap 
tain  Levi  Perkins.  Elnathan  had  two  wives  :  the  first, 
Mary,  died  December  18,  1776,  aged  fifty-five  years; 
the  second,  Freelove,  formerly  the  widow  of  Benjamin 
Bailey,  died  1 794,  aged  seventy-five. 

Elnathan  and  wife,  "  owned  the  covenant,"  in  the 
Congregational  Church  of  Groton,  of  which  Rev.  John 
Owen  was  pastor,  on  April  i,  1739. 

His  children  were  regularly  brought  in  infancy  to 
the  altar  of  the  church  to  receive  the  rite  of  baptism. 
We  find  such  entries  as  these  in  the  ancient  records  of 
the  church,  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Owen  :  — 

"  Elisha  son  of  Elnathan  Perkins  was  baptized  in  in 
fancy  April  5th  1747 

"  Asa  son  of  Elnathan  Perkins  was  baptized  in  in 
fancy  May  28 —  1749-" 

Elnathan's  name  is  found  on  the  rate-bill  of  the 
town  in  1768,  taxed  on  ^"69  4  shillings. 

Elnathan,  on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  went  into  the 
fort  with  four  sons  :  Obadiah,  Elisha,  Asa,  and  Luke 
Jr.  The  three  latter  were  killed,  and  Luke  Jr.  and  Asa 
are  buried  beside  him  in  the  Starr  Burying  Ground. 
Elisha,  who  was  a  married  man,  is  buried  in  the  same 
ground  beside  his  two  infant  children,  Elisha  and 
Mary;  near  him  lies  "Sarah  Wood,  relict  of  William 
Wood,  formerly  the  widow  of  Elisha  Perkins,  who 
died  June  26,  1824,  aged  seventy  years."  Elisha  ap 
pears  in  the  rate-bill  of  1768,  rated  at  ,£18. 

SIMEON  PERKINS,  who  was  killed  in  the  fort  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years,  was  the  son  of  the  Solomon, 
who  was  wounded.  He  was  baptized  in  infancy  on 


246  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

June  15,  1760,  Rev.  Jonathan   Barber  being  pastor  of 
the  church  ;  he  is  buried  beside  Elisha. 

SOLOMON  PERKINS,  who  was  wounded,  was  the  son  of 
Luke;  he  was  baptized  in  infancy  August  24,  1729. 
He  lived  at  Long  Cove,  on  the  Point,  where  his  grand 
son,  John  E.  Perkins,  now  resides ;  his  son  Simeon  was 
killed  in  the  massacre.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
militia  in  1768,  and  captain  at  the  time  of  the  battle. 
In  the  rate-bill  of  1768  he  is  put  down  for  tax  on  ^65. 
He  died  November  4,  1809,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of 
his  age.  He  is  buried  in  the  Starr  Cemetery,  and  was 
a  brother  of  Luke,  Elnathan,  and  Ebenezer,  and  they 
were  all  the  sons  of  Esq.  Luke. 

EBENEZER  PERKINS  is  put  in  the  rate-bill,  in  1768,  at 
£72  10  shillings.  He  owned  his  baptismal  covenant 
in  the  Congregational  Church  in  Groton,  April  14, 
1751  ;  he  died  December  i,  1806,  in  the  eighty-seventh 
year  of  his  age.  His  widow,  Sarah  Perkins,  died  No 
vember  14,  1820,  aged  ninety-five  years,  and  is  buried 
beside  him  in  the  Starr  Cemetery. 

OBADIAH  PERKINS,  son  of  Elnathan,  was  baptized  in 
infancy  May  10,  1741.  In  1768  he  is  entered  in  the 
rate-bill  for  ^"45  16  shillings.  He  lived  on  Brier  Hill, 
in  Groton,  on  land  now  owned  by  Russel  Perkins,  and 
occupied  by  his  son  Simeon,  and  near  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Silas  Bailey,  a  grandson  of  Obadiah.  Oba- 
diah  was  twice  married.  He  was  wounded  in  the  side 
with  three  bayonet  stabs;  was  one  of  those  placed  in 
the  cart  and  run  down  the  hill.  He  died  December  4, 
1812,  aged  seventy-two  years,  and  is  buried  in  the  Starr 
Cemetery. 


Biographical  Sketches.  247 

From  all  I  can  gather  the  Perkinses  who  were  at 
Fort  Griswold  all  resided  in  the  Second  School  Dis 
trict,  Groton;  they  were  landholders,  and  regular  at 
tendants  of  the  church  under  the  ministries  of  Revs. 
John  Owen,  Jonathan  Barber,  and  Aaron  Kinne,  and 
were  upright,  useful,  and  respected  members  of  so 
ciety,  j.  j.  c. 

JOHN  CLARK,  a  volunteer  from  New  London,  is  said 
to  have  crossed  in  an  open  boat  with  a  bag  of  musket 
cartridges,  which  he  carried  up  the  hill  on  his  shoulder 
to  the  fort ;  but  as  he  got  on  the  north  side  of  it  the 
enemy  came  around  the  northeast  corner  and  shot  him 
just  outside  the  gate. 

WAIT  LESTER,  one  of  the  slain,  was  the  second  son 
of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Allyn)  Lester ;  he  was  born  De 
cember,  1759.  They  had  a  son  Daniel  who  was  born 
March  27,  1763.  I  am  unable  to  learn  if  this  is  the 
Daniel  who  was  killed. 

THOMAS  WELLES,  born  in  Groton,  September  12, 
1753,  we  learn  from  the  family  history,  had  been  a  very 
successful  privateersman,  —  on  part  of  his  voyages  at 
least;  but  in  September,  1781,  was  a  gunner  in  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Griswold.  He  was  taken  prisoner, 
carried  to  New  York,  from  whence  he  returned  to  duty 
in  November.  He  was  granted  a  pension  in  1831,  and 
died  in  Groton  in  1848. 

Dr.  ELISHA  MORGAN,  born  in  Groton,  March  7,  1762, 
was  one  of  the  defenders  of  the  fort  who,  after  the 
enemy  gained  possession,  feigned  dead  among  the  dead 
and  wounded  so  well  that  he  was  kicked  and  plundered 


248  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

without  the  deceit  being  detected.  He  heard  the  plans 
for  blowing  up  the  fort,  and  after  the  enemy  had  left 
aided  in  frustrating  their  plans.  He  died  at  sea,  in  a 
voyage  from  Demerara,  in  April  i,  1796,  leaving  four 
children. 

JOHN  MORGAN,  a  brother-in-law  of  Elisha  above,  used 
to  relate  how  he  came  by  his  own  wound.  He  and  a 
comrade  got  on  to  the  parapet  for  better  range  and  op 
portunity  to  fire,  when  his  companion  said,  "  There, 
now,  John,  we  've  a  good  chance  at  them."  But  they 
soon  found  the  good  chances  were  pretty  evenly  di 
vided,  as  "  John  "  received  a  ball  in  his  knee,  which 
gave  him  a  stiff  leg,  and  afterward  a  pension,  while  his 
comrade,  whose  name  could  not  be  recalled,  was  killed 
outright.  John,  on  the  death  of  his  sister  and  her 
husband,  took  charge  of  the  family,  and  reared  them 
as  his  own.  He  died  in  1840,  a  bachelor. 

SYLVESTER  WALWORTH,  who  was  a  volunteer  living 
on  the  north  side  of  Fort  Hill,  was  buried  in  the  Led- 
yard  Cemetery.  His  grave  is  known  to  have  been  le£t 
unprovided  with  memorial  stones. 

BENONI  KENSON,  credited  to  New  London.  No  rep 
resentative  of  the  family  has  resided  in  the  neighbor 
hood  for  many  years.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  sailor 
attached  to  one  of  the  privateer  vessels  lying  in  the 
harbor  at  the  time,  and  volunteered  for  the  defence  of 
the  fort.  If  so  he  was  doubtless  interred  in  the  Old 
Ground  at  New  London. 

JONATHAN  BUTLER,  known  to  have  been  buried  in 
the  last-named  ground. 


Biographical  Sketches.  249 

ELIAS  COIT  and  BARNEY  KINNEY,  buried  in  the  First 
Ground  at  New  London. 

SERGEANT  JOHN  STEDMAN.  Nothing  is  known  of 
him  save  that  he  died  in  the  fort.  His  friends  suppose 
him  to  have  been  buried  in  the  Old  Ground,  east  of 
and  near  Gale's  Ferry. 

SERGEANT  EZEKIEL  BAILEY.  Probably  buried  in  the 
Starr  Ground. 

SERGEANT  CHRISTOPHER  AVERY.  His  descendants 
suppose  him  to  have  been  interred  at  Poquonoc  with 
his  family. 

CORPORAL  EDWARD  MILLS.  In  the  Old  Ground  on 
"Whitman  Meeting-House  Hill." 

CORPORAL  NATHAN  SHOLES.  Nothing  definite  can 
be  learned  of  him.  He  is  supposed,  however,  by  old 
inhabitants  to  have  been  buried  in  the  Sandy  Hollow 
Ground,  in  Ledyard,  near  which  his  family  resided. 

PHILLIP  COVIL.    Of  this  man  nothing  can  be  learned. 

DAVID  SEABURY,  a  relative  of  Bishop  Seabury.  The 
family  lived  in  Ledyard,  near  Poquetanock,  where  his 
unmarked  grave  is  supposed  to  be. 

JOHN  BROWN.     Nothing  known. 

SAMUEL  HILL.  Nothing  known  of  him  ;  probably 
a  transient  inhabitant  of  Groton.1 

1  See  Appendix. 


250  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

JONAS  LESTER.  Probably  buried  near  his  cousin, 
Ensign  John  Lester,  in  the  "  Sandy  Hollow  "  Ground. 
Nothing  definite  known. 

JOHN  BILLINGS  •  is  thought  to  have  belonged  to 
North  Stonington.  Nothing  can  be  ascertained  re 
garding  the  place  of  his  sepulture. 

JOSEPH  WEDGER,  SAMUEL  BILLINGS,  and  ELIDAY 
JONES,  unknown. 

DANIEL  DAVIS  and  DANIEL  B.  LESTER,  unknown. 
So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  Lester  was  not  connected 
with  the  families  to  which  John,  Jonas,  and  Wait  be 
longed. 

WILLIAM  COMSTOCK,  a  member  of  Captain  Shap- 
ley's  company,  was  probably  buried  in  the  Comstock 
Ground  in  Montville. 

SOLOMON  TIFT  appears  in  the  list  of  killed  in  the 
Connecticut  Gazette  of  September  21,  1781.  If  this 
is  correct,  there  certainly  were  two  of  that  name.  His 
name  is  not  on  the  tablet  in  the  monument,  which  may 
be  accounted  for  by  the  known  fact  of  there  being  a 
Solomon  Tift  who  had  been  a  privateersman,  and  was 
in  the  harbor  and  entered  the  fort  as  a  volunteer.  He 
was  carried  a  prisoner  to  New  York.  His  wife,  a  sis 
ter  of  Capt.  Hubbard  Burrows,  went  to  the  fort  to 
search  for  him  among  the  dead  and  wounded,  the 
scenes  of  which  search  she  often  described  to  her 
grandson,  Hon.  Nelson  Tift,  of  Albany,  Georgia.  He 
received  a  pension  for  almost  half  a  century,  being  the 
last  Revolutionary  pensioner  in  Groton.  His  descend- 


Biographical  Sketches.  251 

ants  recollect  well  his  description  of  his  sufferings  on 
the  prison-ship.  Two  of  his  daughters  are  living,  Mrs. 
Capewell,  of  Voluntown,  and  Mrs.  Nicholas  Starr,  of 
McGrawville,  Cortland  County,  N.  Y. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  trace  of  any  family 
tradition  regarding  the  one  said  to  have  been  killed. 

JOSHUA  WHEELER,  of  Stonington,  also  of  the  garri 
son,  had  his  left  arm  broken  above  the  elbow,  Septem 
ber  5,  while  wrestling  with  a  fellow-soldier.  He  was 
sent  home  at  once  on  sick  leave,  thus  escaping  the 
chances  of  the  massacre.  His  arm,  either  from  im 
proper  setting  or  lack  of  proper  care,  became  some 
what  crooked.  If  attention  was  called  to  it  in  any 
way,  his  remark  was  in  substance,  "  It  does  not  look 
so  well  as  the  other  one,  but  getting  that  twist  in  it 
saved  my  life." 

One  of  the  wounded,  supposed  to  be  dead,  had  on 
a  new  pair  of  shoes  with  silver  buckles.  These  were 
coveted  by  the  soldiers,  so  they  were  pulled  off  at 
once.  The  first  man  tried  them  on,  but  threw  them 
down  in  disgust.  A  second,  with  larger  feet,  tried 
them,  and  passed  them  to  a  third  as  not  suited  to  his 
needs.  This  man,  after  trial,  threw  the  shoes  on  the 
ground,  exclaiming,  with  an  oath,  "  They  are  too  big 
for  any  decent  man  !  " 

LIEUTENANT  PARKE  AVERY,  born  March  22,  1741, 
eldest  son  of  Elder  Parke  Avery,  lived  at  Dunbar's 
Mill  at  that  time,  and  after  his  father's  death  in  the 
old  Avery  House,  on  Poquonoc  Plains.  He  received 
a  number  of  wounds,  the  most  serious  being  in  the 
forehead.  His  last  recollection  of  the  fight  is  of  de- 


252  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

fending  himself  with  his  sword  against  two  men  with 
bayonets,  when  a  blow  came  on  his  head.  He  was  evi 
dently  bayoneted  by  a  man  on  the  parapet  above  him, 
as  the  blow  split  the  forehead,  took  out  the  eye  and 
the  bone  over  the  eye,  leaving  the  brain  exposed,  and 
a  deep  furrow  up  and  down  the  forehead  after  the 
wound  was  healed.  He  was  left  for  dead,  and  came 
to  his  senses  as  he  was  being  carried  out  on  the 
shoulders  of  those  who  were  collecting  the  bodies. 
His  abrupt  and  military  order,  "  Keep  step,  d — n  it,  — 
keep  step,  boys !  You  shake  me,"  was  rather  startling 
from  a  corpse.  The  sword  he  is  said  to  have  used  on 
that  occasion  is  in  possession  of  one  of  his  descend 
ants,  Jefferson  A  very,  of  New  London.  His  son 
Thomas,  born  in  1764,  was  killed  bravely  fighting  by 
his  side  during  the  assault.  See  note,  p.  50. 

ENSIGN  EBENEZER  AVERY,  brother  of  Lieutenant 
Parke  Avery,  lived  with  his  family  in  the  house  now 
at  the  foot  of  Latham  Street,  where  he  carried  on  his 
trade  as  tailor. 

He  went  into  the  fort  early  in  the  morning,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  the  preparations  for  defence.  He 
was  severely  wounded  by  a  shot  through  the  lower 
part  of  the  neck,  cutting  the  cords,  and  leaving  him 
senseless  as  one  of  the  dead.  He  recovered,  with  the 
loss  of  his  hearing,  and  lived  many  years  after. 

It  was  to  his  house  at  the  foot  of  the  Heights  that 
the  wounded  from  the  wagon  were  taken,  he  among 
the  number.  The  blood  stains  are  still  visible  on  its 
oaken  floor,  as  he  would  not  allow  them  washed  out  in 
his  day,  which  ended  January  n,  1828,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one. 

JASPER  AVERY,  another  brother,  born   1743,  lived  on 


Biographical  Sketches.  253 

the  Poquonoc  Plains,  near  the  old  Avery  homestead. 
On  hearing  the  alarm  guns  he  responded,  partici 
pated  in  the  defence,  and  was  carried  back  a  corpse 
upon  the  shoulders  of  his  neighbors  the  next  morning. 

ELISHA,  the  youngest  of  these  brothers,  was  born  in 
X755'  but  had  already  attained  the  rank  of  captain. 
He  was  unmarried. 

PARKE  AVERY,  SEN.,  universally  called  Elder  Parke, 
the  father  of  these  soldiers,  was  one  of  if  not  the  most 
prominent  citizen  of  Groton  for  many  years,  from  be 
ing  a  man  of  wealth,  and  having  taken  the  initiative 
in  a  very  bitter  fight  against  the  "  established  order  " 
in  ecclesiastical  matters.  He  was  a  man  of  wonderful 
energy  and  activity,  in  which  qualities  his  sons  were 
not  deficient. 

CHRISTOPHER  AVERY,  the  son  of  George  and  Eunice 
Avery,  was  born  September  6,  1 760.  He  went  to  the 
fort  in  response  to  the  signal,  in  spite  of  the  protest  of 
his  family,  and  was  slain  on  his  twenty-first  birthday. 

CAPTAIN  ELIJAH  AVERY,  buried  in  the  Poquonoc 
Ground,  by  the  side  of  David,  was  the  second  son  of 
John,  and  was  born  in  1733.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth 
for  that  time,  and  his  descendants  are  numerous  in 
Groton. 

AMOS  AVERY,  the  youngest  brother  of  the  above, 
born  March  6,  i  743,  was  wounded  and  paroled. 

DAVID  AVERY,  the  son  of  the  fourth  James  Avery, 
was  the  oldest  of  the  name  who  participated  in  the 


254  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

battle,  and  was  born  in  1727.  He  is  buried  in  the  Old 
Ground  at  Poquonoc,  where  his  tombstone,  elaborate 
for  those  times,  gives  evidence  of  his  wealth  and  the 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held.  His  brother  John 
had  a  son  Peter  taken  prisoner,  and  James  had  two 
sons  carried  away,  but  all  returned. 

LIEUTENANT  EBENEZER  AVERY,  the  eldest  son  of 
Ebenezer,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  fourth  James 
above,  was  born  March  7,  1732,  and  married  Phebe 
Denison,  the  daughter  of  his  step-mother,  1761.  His 
tombstone  is  in  the  "  Packer's  Rocks "  or  Ledyard 
Cemetery. 

ENSIGN  DANIEL  AVERY,  the  second  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Thankful  A  very,  was  born  in  Groton,  November 
14,  1740.  On  hearing  the  alarm  he  mounted,  with  his 
son  Daniel,  Jr.,  behind,  to  bring  back  the  horse,  and 
rode  to  the  fort.  His  son  returned  home,  and  the 
next  day  returned  with  a  team  to  bear  away  the  body 
of  his  father. 

SOLOMON  AVERY,  the  next  younger  brother  of  Dan 
iel,  was  born  in  1 748.  He  is  buried  beside  his  brother 
Daniel  in  the  Old  Ground  at  Poquonoc.  Sarah,  their 
sister,  was  the  wife  of  Captain  Hubbard  Burrows,  one 
of  the  slain. 

PETER  AVERY,  the  eldest  son  of  John,  whose  brother 
David  was  killed,  was  born  May  10,  1764,  and  lived 
with  his  father  near  Centre  Groton.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  to  New  York,  and,  as  an  example  of  their  suf 
ferings  from  hunger,  often  spoke  of  the  most  delicious 
morsel  he  ever  eat  during  his  life  being  two  raw  pota- 


Biographical  Sketches.  255 

toes  he  stole  from  the  basket  of  an  old  cook  while  in 
captivity.  In  1787  he  married  Hannah,  the  daughter 
of  Lieutenant  Parke  A  very. 

RUFUS   AVERY'S   ACCOUNT   OF   HIS   TIME   OF  SERVICE  IN 
THE  ARMY  DURING  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 

I  enlisted  under  Capt  Abel  Spicer  (May)  1776  for 
to  join  the  Continental  Army  at  New  York,  6  mos. 

In  the  year  1777  I  was  drafted  Jany  i  to  serve  to 
due  a  tour  of  duty  under  Capt  Peleg  Noyes  at  Fort 
Griswold,  3  mos. 

The  same  year  the  last  of  July,  I  was  drafted  to  go 
to  the  Northard  with  Capt  Prentice  to  join  General 
Gates  Army,  3  mos 

In  the  year  1778  (in  January)  I  was  drafted  to  serve 
a  tour  of  duty  under  Capt  Joseph  Gallup  at  Fort  Gris 
wold,  2  mos. 

In  the  year  1779  (in  January)  I  was  drafted  to  do  a 
tour  of  duty  under  Lieut  Thompson  at  Fort  Griswold, 
3  mos. 

In  1 780  the  1 6th  day  of  November  I  was  22  Years 
old  and  about  that  time  I  enlisted  and  joined  Capt 
Wm  Lathams  Company  of  Artillery  to  do  orderly  ser- 
gents  duty  in  said  Company  in  Fort  Griswold,  made  a 
prisoner  6'h  of  September  by  the  british  fleet  and  was 
exchanged  in  about  13  days  and  returned  home  to  my 
duty  at  Fort  Griswold  and  served  out  my  Year,  &  then 
had  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  Company. 

Rufus  Avery  died  at  Groton  July  30,  1842,  aged  83 
years,  8  mos,  and  14  days. 

In  his  written  account  of  this  New  York  Campaign, 
he  speaks  of  his  companions  Lieut  Parke  Avery,  Serg' 
John  Stedman,  and  Elisha  Avery,  all  of  whom  were 
also  in  Fort  Griswold,  the  last  two  being  killed. 


256  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

CALEB  AVERY,  the  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
(Allyn)  A  very,  was  born  February  25,  1760,  the  next 
younger  brother  of  Rufus  Avery,  whose  narrative  is 
given  elsewhere.  He  was  living  near  the  present  loca 
tion  of  the  navy  yard,  and  entered  the  fort  as  a  volun 
teer,  and  was  stationed  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
works.  Seeing  the  treatment  accorded  to  the  garrison 

O  O 

he  fled  to  the  magazine;  as  he  was  turning  to  enter 
he  saw  the  killing  of  Ledyard,  as  heretofore  described. 
He  was  not  wounded,  and  was  taken  a  prisoner  to  New 
York,  and  confined  in  the  old  Sugar  House,  but  re 
turned  home  late  in  the  fall,  as  I  learn  from  his  daugh 
ter,  Mrs.  Eliza  Avery  Williams,  now  living  on  Groton 
Bank.  His  wife  was  Mary  Avery,  a  sister  of  Peter, 
also  one  of  the  prisoners. 

These  Averys  are  all  descended  from  James  Avery, 
born  in  England  1620,  died  in  Poquonoc  1694,  in  a 
house  still  standing.  This  ancient  dwelling  stands  at 
the  head  of  Poquonoc  Plains,  and  is  owned  and  occu 
pied  by  James  D.  Avery,  the  town  clerk  of  Groton. 
It  is  now  in  good  repair,  and  the  timbers  are  as  sound 
apparently  as  when  cut  in  the  primeval  forest,  in  1656 
or  7,  by  James  Avery.  In  1684  he  bought  for  £6  the 
first  church  in  New  London,  which  had  stood  about 
thirty  years,  took  it  down  and  transported  it  across  the 
river,  and  added  it  to  his  house,  where  nearly  a  century 
later  it  was  again  used  as  a  house  of  worship  by  Elder 
Parke  Avery,  the  great  grandson  of  James,  and  leader 
of  "  The  Separates."  It  has  been  aptly  called  the 
"hive  of  the  Averys,"  having  been  the  home  of  the 
Avery  family  for  eight  successive  generations  in  regu 
lar  order  of  descent  from  father  to  son  :  i.  James  ;  2. 
James;  3.  Ebenezer ;  4.  Elder  Parke;  5.  Lieutenant 
Parke  ;  6.  Youngs  ;  7.  Parke  ;  and  8.  James  D.,  the 
present  occupant. 


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Biographical  Sketches.  257 

EBENEZER  LEDYARD,  the  eldest  of  the  Ledyard  broth 
ers,  —  Ebenezer,  John,  Youngs,  and  William,  —  was  a 
ship-owner  and  West  India  merchant  of  wealth  and 
influence.  His  position  was  such  that  in  the  common 
accounts  of  the  time  his  given  name  is  hardly  ever 
used,  being  always  called  "  Squire  Ledyard."  A  very 
public  spirited  man,  he  was  among  those  foremost  in 
all  actions  tending  to  help  the  Colonies  to  success;  per 
haps  nothing  can  be  quoted  more  characteristic  of  the 
man  than  the  action  described  by  Rufus  A  very  in  his 
account:  "Captain  Bloomficld  paroled  the  wounded 
men  who  were  left  and  took  Ebenezer  Ledyard  Esqr  as 
a  hostage  for  them  left  on  parol  to  see  them  forthcom 
ing  if  called  for."  Here  he  is  seen  daring  to  brave  the 
dangers  of  the  British  Prison  Ship  that  his  wounded 
friends  and  neighbors  might  have  the  care  of  their 
friends  in  their  sufferings.  Nothing  would  have  been 
easier  than  to  have  fled  and  left  the  wounded  to  look 
out  for  themselves,  as  many  if  not  all  did.  Stephen 
Hempstead  speaks  of  the  same  circumstance,  and  also 
of  the  fact  of  his  procuring  a  sentinel  to  guard  the 
wounded  from  molestation  until  the  last  of  the  enemy 
embarked. 

His  house  and  all  other  property  burnable  was  de 
stroyed  by  fire:  such  a  prominent  and  efficient  enemy 
must  be  made  to  suffer  as  much  as  possible.  In  the 
fire  land  awards  his  loss  is  much  the  largest  of  anyone 
in  Groton,  the  entire  allowance  not  amounting  to  seven 
times  his. 

His  children  by  two  marriages  were  thirteen  sons. 

CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  LATHAM,  of  Groton,  was  with 
Washington  on  Dorchester  Heights,  as  a  lieutenant 
of  artillery  in  1775,  and  was  the  captain  of  artillery  com- 

17 


258  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

manding  Fort  Griswold,  as  Captain  Shapley  com 
manded  Fort  Trumbull,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  on 
Groton  Heights. 

Colonel  Ledyard,  commanding  the  military  district, 
did  not  take  special  command  at  Fort  Griswold  until 
the  morning  of  the  6th.  It  was  customary  in  those  days 
for  the  commander  of  a  battery  to  prime  each  gun  from 
his  own  powder-horn,  and  that  of  Lieutenant  Latham, 
used  by  him  at  Dorchester,  is  still  in  existence  as  an 
heir-loom  in  the  family.  It  has  a  good  sketch  of  Bos 
ton  harbor,  with  the  British  fleet  riding  at  anchor,  as 
seen  from  Dorchester  Heights  at  that  time,  —  evi 
dently  cut  with  a  pocket  knife,  but  remarkable  for  its 
accuracy,  —  with  a  statement  that  it  was  done  by  Lieu 
tenant  William  Latham  at  Dorchester  Heights  in 

O 

1775.     He  was  a  son  of  Deacon  Jonathan  Latham. 

CAPTAIN  SAMUEL  ALLYN,  born  at  Allyn's  Point,  No 
vember  21,  1734,  married  Mary  Wood,  December, 
1757.  He  had  seen  service  in  the  field,  and  was  then 
captain  of  militia  and  one  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town. 
He  lived  at  the  time  in  the  house  in  Ledyard  now 
occupied  by  his  grandson  of  the  same  name.  He  was 
sowing  rye  in  his  field,  and,  on  hearing  the  alarm,  im 
mediately  saddled  his  horse  and  rode  to  the  house  of 
his  ensign,  Amos  Lester,  and  with  him  rode  to  the  old 
Wood  House  on  the  North  Lane,  where  they  left  their 
horses.  After  death  he  was  robbed  of  his  coat,  sword, 
belt,  knee  and  shoe  buckles.  Mrs.  Eunice  Wood 
(from  whose  house  he  was  buried),  a  sister  of  Captain 
Allyn,  then  living  near  the  North  Lane  school-house, 
went  into  the  fort  the  next  morning  after  the  battle  to 
assist  in  caring  for  the  dead  and  wounded  soldiers, 
some  of  whose  mouths  were  full  of  dirt,  they  having 
literally  "  bit  the  dust." 


Biographical  Sketches.  259 

AMOS  LESTER,  ensign  under  Captain  Samuel  Allyn, 
who  was  born  in  the  house  opposite  the  Starr  Burial 
Ground,  was  wounded  in  the  hip,  recovered,  and  lived 
for  forty  years  after,  though  he  was  one  of  those  loaded 
so  carelessly  in  the  wagon. 

JOSEPH  LEWIS,  a  blacksmith  of  Groton,  lieutenant 
with  Captain  Samuel  Allyn,  was  also  killed. 

CAPTAIN  SIMEON  ALLYN,  born  at  Allyn's  Point,  May 
27,  1745,  was  a  cousin  of  Captain  Samuel  Allyn,  and 
married  Esther  Gallup,  September  i,  1771.  He  had 
belonged  to  the  army,  but  was  at  home  and  in  com 
mand  of  a  local  company.  His  tombstone  stands  as 
proof  of  how  well  he  rallied  his  men  and  with  what  de 
termined  valor  they  fought  under  their  trusted  leader. 

Hearing  the  alarm  he  responded  at  once,  as  did  the 
son  of  his  brother  Robert,  BENADAM,  born  December 
1 6,  1 76 1,  who,  inspired  by  the  same  feelings,  shared 
the  dangers  of  the  defence,  and  was  also  killed,  to 
gether  with  BELTON  ALLYN,  son  of  Deacon  Joseph, 
brother  of  Robert  and  Simeon. 

On  the  morning  of  the  battle  this  young  man,  in 
company  with  his  cousin,  Benadam,  started  for  the  fort 
in  answer  to  the  signal  guns,  as  he  had  often  before 
done.  On  their  way  they  called  upon  a  sister  of  Ben 
adam,  who  was  teaching  school  near  Gale's  Ferry.  To 
her  anxious  inquiry  of  where  they  were  going  so  early 
with  their  guns,  Benadam  replied,  "  Down  to  the  train 
ing  to  see  the  fun."  "  You  will  never  come  back 
alive,"  said  she,  and  burst  into  tears.  Beltonwas  killed 
on  the  ramparts  soon  after  entering  the  works,  and  be 
fore  the  storm. 

On  learning  of  his  departure,  his  father  armed  him- 


260  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

self,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  followed  as  rapidly  as 
possible  to  share  his  danger ;  but  on  his  arrival  found 
the  fort  invested,  and  he  was  compelled,  through  the 
long  hours  of  dreadful  suspense,  to  await  within  hear 
ing  the  result  of  the  conflict  to  find  at  last  his  only 
son  a  corpse,  when  he  took  the  body  home  on  his  own 
saddle ;  thus  the  first  tidings  his  mother  had  of  his 
death  was  seeing  his  dead  body. 

NATHANIEL  ADAMS  lived  in  the  section  of  Groton 
known  as  "  Gungawamp,"  where  in  a  thickly-wooded 
valley  is  a  rough,  uncut  slab  of  granite  upon  which  are 
rudely  engraved  the  initials  N  A.  Tradition  says  this 
stone  was  prepared  by  Adams  previous  to  his  death, 
and  after  that  event,  in  accordance  with  his  desire,  it 
was  placed  by  his  friends  at  his  grave.  He  is  said  by 
his  descendants  to  have  been  at  one  time  wealthy,  but 
reduced  to  straitened  circumstances  by  his  patriotism, 
and  to  have  been  well  known  at  that  time  as  a  brother 
of  John  Adams,  who  afterward  became  second  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

CAPTAIN  ELIAS  H.  HALSEY  was  captain  of  a  priva 
teer  brig  lying  in  the  harbor.  He  was  probably  from 
Bridgehampton,  Long  Island,  where  many  of  the  name 
still  reside. 

JOHN  WHITTLESEY,  aged  twenty-three,  and  his  half 
brother,  STEPHEN  WHITTLESEY,  sixteen,  although  origi 
nally  credited  to  New  London,  are  known  to  have  be 
longed  to  that  part  of  Saybrook  now  constituting  the 
town  of  Westbrook.  They  were  drafted  from  the  mi 
litia  of  that  town  for  the  defence  of  New  London  har 
bor,  and  were  members  of  Captain  Shapley's  compan) 


Biographical  Sketches.  261 

of  artillery,  stationed  in  Fort  Trumbull,  and  crossed 
with  him  to  Fort  Griswold,  where  they  were  stationed 
in  the  southwest  bastion. 

John  was  shot  through  the  forehead  at  his  post. 
Stephen  was  killed  by  a  bayonet  thrust  during  the 
massacre  about  the  door  of  the  magazine.  Their  fam 
ily  traditions  are  that  they  were  barbarously  bayoneted 
after  death.  John  had  one  child  at  the  time  of  his 
death;  another,  also  a  son,  was  born  October,  1781. 
Their  burial  place  is  not  definitely  known,  but  it  is 
highly  probable  that  it  is  near  that  of  an  elder  brother 
(Joseph),  whose  monument  is  found  in  the  cemetery  at 
Westbrook  Village. 

THE   STANTONS. 

In  the  heroic  struggles  of  our  country  for  independ 
ence  and  her  just  civil  privileges,  the  citizens  of  Groton 
and  Stonington  always  stood  ready  to  render  their 
quota  of  means  and  men.  In  the  latter  town  the  names 
of  families  are  not  few  that  deserve  honorable  mention 
for  their  prompt  patriotism  and  earnest  devotion  to 
liberty.  Among  these  the  name  of  Stanton,  a  fam 
ily  that  Stonington  has  much  occasion  to  honor,  fre 
quently  occurs  on  the  civil  and  military  rolls  of  the 
town.  THOMAS  STANTON,  the  Indian  interpreter  for 
Winthrop  in  1636,  was  among  the  first  white  men  who 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Pawcatuck.  He  is  a  his 
toric  character,  and  his  posterity  were  largely  repre 
sented  in  this  sanguinary  battle.  DANIEL  STANTON 
one  of  his  descendants,  was  an  officer  in  the  French 
and  Indian  wars,  and  his  sword  is  still  shown  by  his 
great-grandson,  who  bears  his  name. 

WILLIAM  STANTON  commanded  the  fifth  company  of 


262  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Stonington  militia  from   1774  to  1784,  and  was  a  wor 
thy  officer. 

No  one  among  the  heroes  that  fell  at  Groton 
Heights,  in  military  experience  and  ability,  surpassed 
Captain  AMOS  STANTON.  He  had  been  in  actual  service 
n  the  cause  of  the  Colonies  almost  from  the  commence 
ment  of  hostilities  with  the  mother  country,  and  was 
an  accomplished  soldier.  He  had  become  distinguished 
not  only  as  a  military  man  but  as  a  patriot,  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  his  country.  At  the  time  of  the  battle 
and  massacre  at  Fort  Griswold  he  held  the  rank  of 
captain  in  the  Continental  Army,  and  was  home  on  a 
furlough.  Hearing  the  alarm  guns  on  the  morning  of 
the  battle,  he  hastened  to  the  fort,  and  was  warmly  wel 
comed  by  Ledyard  and  his  brave  compatriots.  Dur 
ing  the  councils  of  war  held  by  the  officers  of  the  fort 
on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  he  favored  a  different  line 
of  defence  than  the  one  adopted  by  his  brother  officers. 
His  plan  was  to  meet  and  skirmish  with  the  British 
troops  as  soon  after  their  landing  as  would  bring  them 
into  the  woodland  near  the  shore.  By  skilfully  ma 
noeuvring  his  men,  he  could  make  his  force  appear  far 
more  formidable  than  it  really  was,  and  by  skirmishing 
with  the  enemy  and  holding  them  in  check  he  would 
be  joined  by  all  the  volunteers  who  were  constantly 
arriving,  some  of  whom  refused  to  enter  the  fort,  where, 
in  case  of  defeat,  there  was  no  escape.  But  his  opin 
ions  were  overruled,  and  the  result  is  known. 

The  possession  of  great  physical  power  and  activity, 
with  a  firmness  and  courage  that  nothing  could  daunt, 
fitted  him  for  a  military  leader.  But  what  could  per 
sonal  prowess  and  superhuman  strength  do  against  an 
overwhelming  disciplined  force.  Finding  that  the  gar 


Biographical  Sketches.  263 

rison  were  to  be  put  to  the  sword,  he  rushed  among  the 
enemy  and  sold  his  life  at  a  fearful  cost,  and  finally 
sank  to  the  earth  riddled  with  bayonets  and  bullets. 
Captain  Stanton  descended  from  a  noble  line  of  an 
cestors.  Paternally  he  descended  from  the  famous 
Indian  warrior,  Captain  George  Denison,  and  from 
Thomas  Stanton,  the  interpreter-general  of  New  Eng 
land.  Maternally  he  descended  from  John  Alden,  of 
the  Mayflower,  through  his  son  David  Alden,  who 
married  Mary  Southworth,  daughter  of  Constant  South- 
worth,  who  descended  from  Sir  Gilbert  Southworth, 
Knight,  of  Southworth  Hall,  England.—  R.  A.  W. 

Captain  PHINEAS  STANTON  had  two  sons  slain  in  the 
fort, —  Lieutenant  ENOCH  and  Sergeant  DANIEL. 

ENOCH  was  second  in  command  in  Fort  Griswold. 
He  had  served  with  the  same  rank  in  the  Continental 
Army  till  his  pay  was  insufficient  to  meet  the  demands 
of  his  family,  when  he  resigned  and  came  home.  After 
a  while  he  was  by  improvements  in  his  fortune  able 
to  offer  himself  and  be  accepted  for  the  post  he  was 
filling  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  left  a  widow  and 
seven  children,  in  the  language  of  the  official  report, 
"  with  no  personal  estate  more  than  enough  to  pay  the 
debts ;  a  goldsmith,  and  depended  upon  his  trade  to 
support  his  family."  DANIEL  was  unmarried,  but  affi 
anced  to  a  young  lady,  to  whom  a  few  days  before  he 
had  presented  a  pattern  of  splendid  brocade  silk  for 
her  wedding  dress,  which  he  had  taken  from  the  prize 
ship  Hannah,  as  a  part  of  his  share  of  her  cargo.  The 
bodies  of  these  men  were  taken  the  next  day  to  the 
house  of  their  father,  and  laid  in  the  room  where  they 
were  born.  They  were  buried  in  the  old  Stanton 
Burial  Place  in  one  grave,  among  their  ancestors,  who 


264  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

distinguished  themselves  as  among  the  noblest  of  ante- 
Revolutionary  patriots. 

Daniel  Stanton  had  also  two  sons  in  the  battle, 
DANIEL  and  EDWARD,  who  were  severely  wounded. 
Of  these  it  is  related  that  on  the  morning  of  the  6th, 
as  soon  as  they  heard  the  alarm,  they  hastened  over 
eleven  miles  to  their  perilous  posts,  and  were  in  time 
to  play  heroically  their  part  in  the  tragedy.  Daniel 
received  a  painful  bullet  wound  in  the  leg  and  twenty 
gashes  from  English  cutlasses  or  bayonets,1  and  was 
one  of  those  sent  down  the  hill  in  the  wagon.  He 
survived  his  wounds,  and  lived  till  January  4,  1826, 
when  he  died,  aged  seventy-seven.  Edward  was  shot 
in  the  left  breast  by  a  musket-ball,2  which  tore  his  side 
so  that  the  heart  was  visible  to  the  physician  who  had 
charge  of  him  during  his  convalescence. 

After  the  massacre,  while  he  lay  bleeding,  an  Eng 
lish  officer  passed,  of  whom  he  begged  for  something 
to  stanch  the  flow  of  blood.  The  compassionate  offi 
cer,  whose  name  he  never  knew,  took  from  his  pocket 
a  knitted  linen  night-cap,  and,  folding  it  together, 
stopped  the  flow  of  blood,  and  gave  him  a  drink  of 
water.  By  this  humane  act  his  life  was  saved. 

The  vest  worn  by  Mr.  Stanton,  showing  two  bullet- 
tracks,  —  the  lower  of  which  did  not  go  through  his 
under-clothing,  the  upper  bullet  being  the  one  which 
laid  bare  his  heart,  —  and  also  the  linen  night-cap,  are 
now  in  possession  of  his  son  David,  who  cherishes 
them,  together  with  the  sword  of  his  great-grandfather, 
as  mementos  of  the  patriotism  of  his  ancestors. 

Subsequently,  when  nearly  thirty-three  years  later 
the  British  ships  made  an  attack  on  Stonington,  in 

1  See  page  133.  "  See  page  131. 


Biographical  Sketches.  265 

August,  1814,  Edward  again  hurried  to  the  front  as  a 
volunteer,  where  all  were  volunteers,  and  worked  to 
gether  with  such  zeal  and  skill,  that  with  two  eighteen- 
pounders  they  drove  off  the  attacking  fleet. 

When  President  Monroe  made  his  tour  through 
New  England  he  visited  Stonington,  and  at  the  old 
arsenal  was  introduced  to  this  Revolutionary  hero. 
The  President  remarked  to  him,  "  Our  independence 
cost  us  many  a  hard  blow."  Mr.  Stanton  replied,  lay 
ing  bare  his  aged  bosom,  purpled  and  drawn  with  the 
scar,  "  Here  was  one  of  them."  The  circumstance  is 
mentioned  by  the  President  in  the  description  of  his 
tour.  Mr.  Stanton  received  a  pension  for  his  services, 
and  survived  till  1832,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one,  leaving  three  children  who  still  survive 
him. 


NAMES  OF  THE   HEROES   WHO  FELL  AT  FORT 
GRISWOLD,    SEPTEMBER   6,    1781. 

COLLECTED  AND  ARRANGED  BY  CHARLES  ALLYN. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  WILLIAM  LEDYARD,  Commanding. 

Captain  Elijah  Avery Groton. 

Captain  Elisha  Avery          ....  Groton. 

Lieutenant  Ebenezer  Avery  ....  Groton. 

Ensign  Daniel  Avery  .....  Groton. 

Sergeant  Christopher  Avery  ....  Groton. 

Sergeant  Jasper  Avery        ....  Groton. 

Sergeant  Solomon  Avery        ....  Groton. 

David  Avery Groton. 

Thomas  Avery Groton. 

Captain  Samuel  Allyn         .     Ledyard         .  Groton. 

Captain  Simeon  Allyn    .  Ledyard    .         .  Groton. 

Belton  Allyn       .         .         .     Ledyard         .  Groton. 

Benadam  Allyn       .         .          Ledyard   .         .  Groton. 

Nathaniel  Adams J Groton. 

Captain  Hubbard  Burrows      ....  Groton. 

Sergeant  Ezekiel  Bailey      ....  Groton. 

Corporal  Andrew  Billings       .     Ledyard         .  Groton. 

Andrew  Baker    .         .         .         Ledyard     .  Groton. 

John  P.  Babcock Groton. 

John  Billings Preston. 

Samuel  Billings       ....  .  Groton. 

William  Bolton New  London. 

John  Brown Groton. 

Jonathan  Butler Saybrook. 

Lieutenant  Richard  Chapman         .  .  New  London. 

1  This  name  is  Nathan  in  some  accounts. 


Names  of  Heroes  who  fell  at  Fort  Griswold.        267 


Sergeant  Eldredge  Chester 

Daniel  Chester 

Jedidiah  Chester * 

Frederic  Chester 2 . 

John  Clark  .... 

Elias  Coit3      .... 

Lieutenant  James  Comstock 

William  Comstock 

Philip  Covill 

Daniel  Davis  .... 

Daniel  Eldredge* 

Jordan  Freeman  (colored) 

Captain  Elias  Henry  Halsey  6 

Samuel  Hill    .... 

John  Holt,  Jr.     . 

Sergeant  Rufus  Hurlburt 

Eliday  Jones 

Moses  Jones    .... 

Benoni  Kenson    . 

Barney  Kinney8 

Captain  Youngs  Ledyard    . 

Captain  Cary  Leeds  7 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Lewis    . 

Ensign  John  Lester 

Daniel  D.  Lester8 

Jonas  Lester  .... 

Wait  Lester 

Thomas  Lamb 


Ledyard 
Ledyard 
Ledyard 


Ledyard 
Ledyard 


Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

New  London. 

New  London. 

New  London. 

Saybrook. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Long  Island. 

Groton. 

New  London. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

New  London. 

New  London. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 

Groton. 


1  I  find  this  name  in  the  list  prepared  by  Rafus  Avery,  and  also  that 
by  Benadam  Gallup  ;  also,  see  page  22,  Jeremiah,  but  not  on  the  monu 
ment. 

2  This  name  is  on  the  monument  ;  no  trace  elsewhere. 
8  On  the  monument  slab  as  Ellis. 

4  Wounded;  carried  away  prisoner ;  returned  sick,  and  died   Decem 
ber  n.     Not  on  the  monument. 

6  On  the  monument  Henry  Halsey. 

*  On  the  monument  Kenny. 

7  This  man  was  wounded,  and  died  December  28.    See  page  138.    Not 
on  the  monument. 

*  On  monument  Daniel  C. 


268 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


Lambo  Latham  (colored) 
Captain  Nathan  Moore 
Corporal  Edward  Mills 
Corporal  Simeon  Morgan 
Thomas  Miner1  . 
Joseph  Moxley 
Corporal  Luke  P( 
David  Palmer 
Elisha  Perkins     . 
Luke  Perkins 
Asa  Perkins 
Elnathan  Perkins 
Simeon  Perkins  . 
Captain  Peter  Richards  . 
Captain  Adam  Shapley 
Captain  Amos  Stanton 
Lieutenant  Enoch  Stanton 
Sergeant  Daniel  Stanton 
Sergeant  John  Stedman 
Sergeant  Nicholas  Starr 
Corporal  Nathan  Sholes 
Thomas  Starr,  Jr. 
David  Seabury     . 
Captain  John  Williams 
Lieutenant  Henry  Will 
Lieutenant  Patric  Ward 
Sylvester  Walworth 
Joseph  Wedger 
Thomas  Williams 
Daniel  Wrilliams  2 
John  Whittlesey 
Stephen  Whittlesey 
Christopher  Woodbridge 
Henry  Woodbridge 

Total, 


lored)     .... 

Groton. 

)ore    .         .         . 

Groton. 

lills        .... 

Groton. 

[organ        .     I.edyard 

Groton 

Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

.     Ledyard 

Groton. 

iins,  Jr.          Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

...... 

Groton. 

Ledyard    . 

Groton. 

Ledyard 

Groton. 

Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

Ledyard 

Groton. 

Ledyard    . 

Groton. 

ards  ..... 

New  London. 

pley 

New  London. 

iton    .         .     Ledyard 

Groton. 

Stonington. 


tanton 

Stonington. 

dman       .          Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

Starr           .... 

Groton. 

.holes      .          Ledyard    . 

Groton. 

..... 

Groton. 

Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

;ams    ..... 

Groton. 

Williams         Ledyard     . 

Groton. 

Ward           .... 

Groton. 

b.     

Groton. 

.     Ledyard 

Groton. 

.        . 

Stonington. 

...... 

Saybrook. 

.        .         . 

Saybrook. 

y      

Saybrook. 

bridge     .... 

Groton. 

Groton. 

1  On  the  tombstone  Minard,  which  seems  to  be  an  error,  as  his  descent 
is  from  Clement  Miner. 

2  Not  on  the  monument. 


Names  of  the  Wounded. 


209 


NAMES   OF   THE   WOUNDED, 

PAROLED    AND    LEFT    AT    HOME. 

'*  A  Particular  Account  of  the  Men  that  were  Wounded  at  Fori 
Griswold,  in  the  Battle  with  the  British,  on  the  6"  of  Sept  1781, 
who  were  Paroled  by  Captain  Bloomfield ;  and  Ebenezer  Ledyard, 
Esq.,  was  taken  as  Hostage  to  see  them  forthcoming,  if  called  for." 
In  the  presence  of  R'ifus  Avery. 

Lieutenant  Parke  Avery,  Jr.,  lost  one  eye       .  Groton. 

Ensign  Ebenezer  Avery,  in  the  head  .         .  Groton. 

Amos  Avery,  in  the  hand        ....  Groton. 

John  Daboll,  Jr.,  in  the  hand        .         .          .  Groton. 

Ensign  Charles  Eldridge,  knee       .         .         .  Groton 

Daniel  Eldridge,  shot  through  neck  and  face  Groton. 

Christopher  Eldridge,  in  the  face    .         .         .  Groton. 

Samuel  Edgecomb,  Jr.,  in  the  hand     .  Groton. 

Andrew  Gallup,*  in  the  hip    .         .  .  Groton. 

Robert  Gallup,*  in -the  body         .         .         .  Groton. 

Sergeant  Stephen  Hempstead,  in  the  body     .  New  London. 

Corporal  (Jehial)  Judd,  in  the  knee      .         .  Hebron. 

Captain  William  Latham,  in  the  thigh    .          .  Groton. 

Captain  Edward  Latham,  in  the  body          .  Groton. 

Jonathan  Latham,  Jr.,*  body  ....  Groton. 

Christopher  Latham,  Jr.,  body     .         .          .  Groton. 

Frederick  Moore,1  body Groton. 

John  Morgan,  in  the  knee    ....  Groton. 


*  This  name  is  in  the  original  manuscript,  but  has  never  been  given 
in  any  printed  list.  — A. 

1  Frederick  Wave  first  appeared  in  Rathbun's  Narrative,  before  alluded 
to,  and  was  copied  by  Mr.  Harris.  The  original  manuscript  list  of  pa 
roled  wounded  is  that  of  Kufus  Avery,  in  which  this  name  is  Frederick 
More.  Though  carelessly  written,  any  one  can  see  the  same  reading 
which  gave  us  Wave  should  have  given  us  Wavgan  for  Morgan.  Fred 
erick  Moore  drew  a  pension.  I  have  put  him  in  place  of  Wave,  who  has 
for  a  century  taken  the  honors  due  to  Moore,  who  lost  a  house  on  Gro 
ton  Bank  by  the  fire.  No  trace  of  Wave  can  be  found.  He  seems  to 
have  disappeared  as  completely  as  his  namesakes  after  a  gale. 


270  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Jabish  Pendleton,  in  the  hand         .  .  Groton. 

Captain  Solomon  Perkins,  in  the  face          .  Groton. 

Lieutenant  Obadiah  Perkins,  in  the  breast     .  Groton. 

Ebenezer  Perkins,  in  the  face     .         .         .  Groton. 

Elisha  Prior,  in  the  arm          ....  Groton. 

Lieutenant  William  Starr,  in  the  breast      .  Groton. 

John  Starr,*  in  the  arm Groton. 

Daniel  Stanton,  Jr.,  in  the  body          .         .  Stonington. 

William  Seymour,  lost  his  leg          .         ...  Hartford. 

Ensign  Jos.  Woodmansee,  lost  one  eye        .  Groton. 

Sanford  Williams,  in  the  body         .         .         .  Groton. 

Asel  Woodworth,  in  the  neck      .         .         .  Groton. 

Thomas  Woodworth,  in  the  leg        .         .         .  Groton. 

Zibe  Woodworth,  in  the  knee      .         .         .  Groton. 

ADDITIONAL    NAMES    NOT    ON    AVERY's    LIST,    BUT    IN    THAT 
PRINTED    BY    MR.    HARRIS. 

Samuel  Stillman,  arm  and  thigh  .        ..  .     Saybrook. 

Tom  Wansuc   (Pequot    Indian),  bayonet  stab   in 

neck .       Groton. 

If  to  these  we  add,  — 

Edward  Stanton,  in  the  body      .          .          .     Stonington, 

who  is  in  the  list  of  wounded  reported  by  the  committee  of 
the  Legislature,  we  have  exactly  the  number  (35)  reported 
by  Stephen  Hempstead  as  being  paroled. 

The  large  proportion  of  officers  among  the  killed  and 
wounded  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  after  six  years  of 
war,  many  men  had  been  in  the  army  or  militia  and  earned 
their  titles.  When  the  alarm  was  sounded,  the  same  spirit 
which  had  raised  them  to  command,  at  once  brought  them  to 
the  fort  as  volunteers.  They  were  there  prompt  for  duty. 
Others  were  officers  of  privateers  or  merchantmen  lying  in 
the  harbor,  whose  fearless  hearts  prompted  them  to  lend  a 
hand  in  defence  of  the  fort. 


Prisoners  carried  Off. 


271 


OTHERS,    BOTH    UNHURT    AND    WOUNDED,    NOT  TAKEN    PRIS 
ONERS. 

Benjamin  Bill,  wounded  in  the  ankle      .         .  Groton. 

Joshua  Bill,  in  the  leg          ....  Groton. 

Benajah  Holdridge Groton. 

Samuel  W.  Jaques Exeter,  R.  I. 

Amos  Lester,  in  the  hip          .  .  Groton. 

Gary  Leeds,1  died  December  28  .         .         .  Groton. 
William  Latham,  Jr.   (a  boy  of  twelve,  who 

was  allowed  to  go  free)    .         .         .  Groton. 

Henry  Mason,  in  the  leg  .  Groton. 

Japheth  Mason    .  .  .  New  London. 

James  Morgan,  fifteen  bayonet  pricks  in  back 

and  legs   .  ....  Groton. 

Thomas  Mallison    ....  .  Groton. 

Joseph  Moxley,  Jr.,  in  the  body  .  .  Groton. 

Elisha  Morgan  Groton. 

John  Prentis,  slightly  wounded  .         .         .  New  London. 

WOUNDED    ON    NEW    LONDON    SIDE. 

Samuel  Booth  Hempstead,  shot  in  thigh. 
Elijah  Richards,  died  September  20. 
Jonathan  Whaley. 


PRISONERS   CARRIED   OFF. 


Sergeant  Rufus  Avery, 
Caleb  Avery, 
Peter  Avery, 
Samuel  Abraham, 
Joshua  Baker, 
Reuben  Bushnell, 


Captain  William  Coit 2  (taken 

on  New  London  side), 
Charles  Chester, 
Nathan  Darrow, 
Elias  Dart, 
Levi  Dart, 


1  See  report  to  Legislature,  page  138. 

2  Captain  of  the  first  company  in  New  London  to  respond  to  the  Lex 
ington  alarm.     Afterward  in  the  naval  service,  in  which  he  boasted  "he 
was  the  first  man  to  turn  King  George  III.'s  bunting  upside  down." 


272  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Gilbert  Edgcomb,  Isaac  Morgan, 

Daniel  Eklridge,  Isaac  Rowley, 

Ebenezer  Fish,  Lieutenant    Jabez     Stow    (of 

Walter  Harris,1  Fort  Trumbull),  Saybrook, 

Jeremiah  Harding,  Corporal  Josiah  Smith, 

Kilburn,  Holsey  Sanford, 

Ebenezer  Ledyard  (hostage),     Solomon  Tift, 

William  Latham,  Horatio  Wales, 

Jonathan  Minor,  Thomas  Welles. 

I  hear  from  a  very  reliable  source  there  were  three  broth 
ers  by  the  name  of  Egglestone,  who  were  prisoners,  but  have 
not  time  to  get  particulars. 

A  few  of  the  difficulties  attending  the  chapter  on  Biograph 
ical  Sketches,  and  the  lists  of  killed  and  wounded,  will  be  ap 
preciated  when  one  considers  the  fact  that  there  were  three 
of  the  name  of  William  Latham,  two  each  of  Daniel  Stanton 
and  Daniel  Eldredge,  seventeen  Avery,  nine  Perkins,  five 
Stanton,  four  Starr,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of  heroes. 

No  list  of  the  wounded  and  prisoners  has  ever  been  made 
until  this  list  of  mine,  which  is  made  up  from  pension  lists, 
official  reports,  petitions,  newspaper  obituaries,  family  letters, 
and  traditions  handed  down  from  father  to  son  or  daughter, 
as  it  chanced  to  be  one  or  the  other,  of  a  nature  to  be  inter 
ested  in  the  family  history. 

Many  times  the  traditions  of  a  family  have  been  found  in 
the  memory  of  some  one  of  another  name,  and  often  people 
acknowledge  hearing  all  the  history  of  the  fort  and  its  de 
fenders  talked  over  years  ago,  but  passed  it  by  as  merely  the 
old  folks'  chatter.  Thus  many  items  of  interest  have  been 
lost,  and  others,  through  imperfect  understanding  at  first,  have 
been  distorted  by  the  lapse  of  time  and  careless  repetition  till 

1  Mr.  Walter  Harris,  living  on  Town  Hill,  near  Fort  Nonsense,  in  the 
house  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  Douglas  W.  Gardner,  was  staying 
by  the  house,  and  when  Arnold  came  by  he  recognized  him,  hailed  him 
as  a  traitor,  and  further  relieved  his  mind  regarding  his  conduct,  for 
which  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  off  with  the  rest. 


A  Historians  Difficulties.  273 

the  accounts  are  very  widely  at  variance.  In  such  cases  I 
have  taken  the  one  with  either  the  preponderance  of  testi 
mony  or  the  least  in  conflict  with  other  known  facts. 

Of  many  men  I  have  been  able  to  learn  nothing,  simply 
because  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  the  historian  of  the 
family. 

CHARLES  ALLYN. 
18 


APPENDIX. 

I  HAVE  been  compelled  to  make  an  Appendix,  by  the  finding  of 
material  belonging  to  the  history  of  the  time  of  the  battle  after  the 
proper  place  for  its  insertion  in  the  body  of  the  work  had  been 
passed ;  also  by  the  fact  that  some  of  the  matter  included  seems  to 
me  interesting  as  a  side  light  on  the  tragedy. 

The  plan  of  Fort  Griswold,  and  the  sketch  of  New  London,  used 
in  this  work  are  fac-similes  from  original  drawings  from  the  collec 
tion  of  William  Faden,  of  London,  engraver  and  King's  Geographer, 
and  are  now  for  the  first  time  given  to  the  public.  This  collection 
of  maps  and  plans  had  come  into  possession  of  Mr.  Faden,  in  his 
duty  of  engraving  for  the  English  government,  and  are  from  draw 
ings  made  at  the  time  by  officers  in  the  English  Army  in  various 
parts  of  the  world.  The  portfolio  from  which  these  are  taken  came 
at  auction  to  Mr.  Converse,  of  New  Haven;  then  to  Hon.  Nathan 
Hale,  both  collectors  of  Americana  ;  and  finally  by  sale  to  the 
Library  of  Congress,  where  they  now  are. 


Copy  of  a  Letter  from  Colonel  William  Ledyard  to  Governor  Trum- 
biill.  —  Written  only  three  days  before  he  was  slain. 

NEW  LONDON  3d  Sept  1781 
MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY 

Having  received  information  lately  that  a  number  of  horses  were  buy 
ing  up  &  several  already  collected  for  the  purpose  of  being  sent  over  to 
Long  Island,  upon  which  information  we  kept  two  boats  cruizing  near  the 
place  they  were  to  embark  from  for  three  nights,  but  the  wind  proving 
unfavorable  &  the  nights  very  light  prevented  their  embarking  &  for 
fear  the  persons  concerned  in  sending  over  the  horses  would  take  another 
route  with  them  I  thought  it  advisable  to  seize  the  horses  at  the  different 
places  where  they  were  collected  &  have  already  seized  &  secured 
4  of  the  horses,  —  also  a  person  by  the  name  of  Collins  Gorton,  who 
appears  to  be  concerned  in  the  affair.  A  large  number  of  sheep  are  pur 
chased  &  are  collecting  to  send  to  the  enemy. 


276  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Would  wish  Your  Excellency  would  please  to  order  unto  this  garrison 
a  proper  number  of  men  for  the  security  of  this  post  to  enable  us  more 
effectually  to  prevent  supplies  being  sent  to  the  enemy.  It  appears  that 
there  are  a  large  number  of  persons  concerned  in  this  trade,  who  pay  lit 
tle  or  no  regard  to  authority  or  the  laws  of  the  State  &  I  conceive  they 
are  dangerous  persons  respecting  this  post. 

I  am  this  day  preparing  a  flag  to  go  to  New  York,  with  a  number  of 
British  naval  prisoners  in  order  to  exchange  those  now  there  belonging  to 
this  State.  The  last  flag  brought  out  all  those  persons  Your  Excellency 
wrote  about  from  Danbury.  I  have  not  yet  received  "any  money  from  the 
Collector  of  Groton  as  directed  &  fear  from  what  he  said  that  he  wont 
be  able  to  supply  me  with  any  worthy  of  note  for  some  time  to  come.  I 
now  owe  for  the  price  of  5  Flags  &  shall  not  have  it  in  my  power  to 
continue  the  exchange  of  American  prisoners  unless  1  am  properly  fur 
nished  with  monies.  Mr.  Mumford  will  be  able  to  inform  Your  Excel 
lency  with  the  difficulties  I  meet  with  on  this  head. 

I  am  with  the  utmost  respect  Your  Excellency's 

Most  obedient  Servant 

W".  LEDYARD. 

[The  original  of  the  above  letter  is  deposited  with  the  Mass.  Historical 
Society.] 


Part  of  a  Letter  from  Ebmezer  Ledyard  to  the  Hon.  William  Williams, 
Member  of  the  Connecticut  Council  of  Safety,  or  War  Committee. 
Dated  at  Groton  February  12,  1778. 

My  brother  has  received  orders  to  enlist  another  matross  company — 
his  first  orders  from  his  Excellency  were  to  take  charge  of  the  forts  on 
both  sides  and  to  overlook  the  works.  He  has  been  obliged  to  order  all 
the  work  last  summer  &  take  as  much  care  of  his  company  as  other  Cap 
tains.  I  dont  believe  they  can  enlist  any  but  boys  without  a  bounty  & 
boys  are  not  fit  for  cannon  — they  can't  do  their  duty  —  it  requires  able- 
bodied  men.  My  brother  is  on  duty  every  day.  He  is  willing  to  serve 
to  order  the  work  on  both  sides  &  command  both  forts,  but  to  take  charge 
of  a  Company  &  direct  the  works  both  as  last  year  he  can't.  Last  year 
he  served  as  Engineer  which  made  a  great  saving  to  the  public,  but 
thinks  he  ought  to  be  allowed  something  extra.  While  others  have  been 
trading  and  making  money  he  has  served  the  public  in  many  depart 
ments.  But  others  that  do  very  little  are  as  much  noticed  as  him  & 
when  any  field  officer  of  the  militia  comes  in  here  they  are  over  him. 
Yet  they  are  obliged  to  go  to  him  to  set  their  men  to  work  &  he  directs 
the  whole.  So  he  does  the  work  &  they  have  the  credit  —but  if  he  is 
not  put  over  both  forts  without  taking  a  company  —  I  believe  he  wont 
serve.  We  have  neither  of  us  touched  trade  since  these  times  began 


Appendix.  277 

but  constantly  served  the  public  &  have  had  other  people  by  us  improving 
and  making  fortunes  &  we  have  lived  on  money  due  us  many  years. 

This,  if  Your  honor  please  you  may  show  Judge  Law,  if  at  Assembly 
or  Esquire  Payne  or  any  honest  man.  EBENEZER  LEDYARD. 


"MOTHER   BAILEY." 

IN  connection  with  the  events  that  characterized  the  attack  and  heroic 
defence  and  final  overpowering  and  massacre  of  the  brave  patriots  that  gave 
their  lives  for  the  protection  of  their  homes  and  the  cause  of  liberty,  the 
name  of  "  Mother  Bailey  "  will  ever  stand  prominent  as  a  warm-hearted 
patriot  and  intense  hater  of  British  oppression.  At  the  time  of  the  attack 
on  the  fort  and  the  barbarous  treatment  of  its  noble  defenders  after  their 
surrender,  Anna  Warner,  then  a  maiden  of  23  summers,  early  an  orphan, 
adopted  by  her  uncle,  Edward  Mills,  resided  with  his  family  in  a  little 
farm-house  surrounded  by  woods  about  three  miles  east  of  the  village  of 
Groton  Bank,  near  what  is  now  called  Candlewood  Hill.  Early  feeling 
the  spirit  of  '76  she  grew  up  under  influences  calculated  to  stimulate  her 
ardor  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  learned  to  hate  most  cordially  the  enemies 
and  invaders  of  her  country,  and  often  wished  "  she  were  a  man  that  she 
might  have  an  opportunity  of  taking  an  active  part  in  its  defence.  Her  uncle, 
Edward  Mills,  was  one  of  the  little  band  of  volunteers  that  on  the  morn 
ing  of  Sept.  6th  early  hurried  to  the  aid  of  the  garrison.  During  the  day 
and  at  its  close  no  particulars  of  the  result  of  the  battle  had  reached  the 
remote  home  of  the  Mills'  family.  The  night  passed  and  no  tidings  had 
been  received  by  his  almost  distracted  wife  as  to  his  fate.  Anna,  after 
early  performing  the  out-door  services  of  the  farm,  clad  in  the  simple  cos 
tume  of  the  time,  hurried  to  the  fort,  three  miles  distant,  to  obtain  intelli 
gence  of  her  relative.  She  found  him  wounded,  bleeding,  and  nearly  in 
sensible,  lying  on  the  bare  floorof  a  neighboring  house  where  the  wounded 
had  been  conveyed.  As  soon  as  he  recognized  her  he  commenced  moan 
ing  for  his  wife  and  children.  Anna  hurried  back  to  the  family  with  the 
sad  intelligence,  and  immediately  saddled  the  family  horse,  on  which  she 
placed  the  mother  with  one  of  the  older  children,  and  taking  the  youngest, 
the  babe,  in  her  arms,  on  foot  herself,  returned  to  the  dying  father,  never 
resting  on  her  errand  of  mercy  until  she  laid  the  child  upon  his  bosom. 
This  was  the  noble  part  which  this  devoted  maiden  took  in  the  history  of 
that  eventful  day. 

After  peace  was  established  she  married  Elijah  Bailey,  who  afterwards 
was  appointed  postmaster  at  Groton  Bank,  which  office  he  continued  to 
hold  under  every  administration  forty  years,  occupying  the  fine  old  man 
sion  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Paymaster  Harris,  pleasantly  situated 
on  the  corner  of  the  old  road  to  Stonington. 

It  was  while  residing  here  with  her  husband,  thirty-one  years  afterwards, 
in  June,  1813,  that  the  famous  petticoat  incident  occurred  that  made  our 


278  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

heroine  renowned  throughout  the  country.  Decatur  and  his  little  fleet  of 
three  vessels  were  closely  blockaded  by  Commodore  Hardy  and  his  squad 
ron,  then  in  full  view  in  Fisher's  Island  Sound.  Maurauding  parties  from 
the  blockading  fleet  were  making  landings  from  time  to  time  along  the 
coast,  and  an  attack  of  a  more  formidable  nature  was  feared,  and  from  the 
former  event  in  1781.  such  an  attempt  at  landing  was  expected.  Alarms 
were  frequent,  and  on  one  occasion  when  the  forts  and  town  were  threat 
ened,  Major  Simeon  Smith,  of  New  London,  with  a  company  of  volunteers, 
-urried  to  reinforce  the  garrison,  but  found  it  deficient  in  a  very  impor 
tant  article  of  ammunition,  —  namely  flannel  for  cartridges.  Search  was  in 
stantly  made  throughout  the  village  for  a  supply.  From  the  apprehension 
of  another  enactment  of  the  scenes  of  1781,  the  inhabitants  had  removed 
nearly  all  their  beds,  bedding,  etc.,  and  flannel  or  blankets  could  not  be 
obtained.  An  appeal  was  made  to  Mrs.  Bailey,  as  she  was  crossing  the 
street  to  the  house  of  a  neighbor.  She  had  already  disposed  of  her 
blankets,  but  quick  as  thought  she  passed  her  hand  under  her  skirt,  and, 
unloosing  the  band  of  her  flannel  petticoat,  dropped  it  gracefully  at  her 
feet  and  handed  it  to  the  officer.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  repeat  the 
exact  vigorous  expression  she  used  as  she  presented  the  garment,  but  the 
cordial  wish  and  hope  of  the  giver  was  that  the  aim  might  be  sure  and  the 
execution  thorough  on  the  first  Englishman  that  could  be  reached.  The 
garment  was  conveyed  to  the  fort  and  its  story  repeated  to  the  garrison, 
and  with  loud  huzzas  for  "  Mother  Bailey  "  it  was  raised  on  a  pike-staff, 
with  the  remark  that  no  better  banner  was  needed  to  stimulate  to  deeds 
of  heroism. 

"The  Martial  Petticoat"  was  lauded  throughout  the  land,  and  was  the 
theme  of  sober  prose  and  patriotic  poesy,  of  story  and  of  song,  and  is  still 
remembered  and  will  be  by  the  patriots  of  future  time.  Its  heroine  was 
honored  with  the  personal  visits  of  one  or  more  of  our  presidents,  by  states 
men  and  historians,  and  many  noted  personages  of  the  past  generation. 
Always  buoyant  and  animated  in  her  nature  and  disposition,  even  in  her 
old  age,  she  was  a  kind  neighbor,  a  warm  friend,  and  always  ready  to  assist 
the  needy,  or  in  person  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  distressed. 
She  died  January  10,  1851,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  from  her  clothes  tak 
ing  fire  from  a  stove  near  which  she  was  sitting.  Cherished  be  her  mem 
ory.  —  W.  H.  S.1 


1  The  above  sketch  of  "  Mother  Bailey  "  is  from  the  writer's  actual  knowledge, 
who  resided  some  years  almost  adjacent  to  her  dwelling,  and,  as  a  frequent  inmate 
of  her  household,  heard  the  rehearsal  and  repetition  of  the  facts  above  stated  from 
her  own  lips  from  time  to  time  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  can 
vouch  for  their  correctness,  although  somewhat  differing  from  occasional  state 
ments  that  have  been  made  in  many  of  the  newspaper  articles  that  have  from  time 
to  time  appeared.  —  W.  II.  S 


Appendix.  279 


The  Honorable  General  Assembly  for  State  of  Connecticut  to  be  con 
vened  at  Hartford  (by  adjournment)  the  i  oth  day  of  October  A  D 
i/Sa.1 

The  memorial  of  Waity  Stanton  Widow  &  relict  of  Lieut  Enoch  Stan- 
ton  late  of  Stonington  Dece'"  humbly  sheweth  that  on  the  6th  day  of  Sep 
tember  1781  (sd  day  by  your  memorialist  never  to  be  forgotten)  She  suf 
fered  the  irreparable  loss  of  a  kind  tender  and  Provident  Husband  in  the 
Garrison  of  Fort  Griswold  in  Groton  That  she  was  then  left  with  the 
charge  &  care  of  seven  children,  chief  were  and  are  incapable  of  support 
by  their  own  hands  That  the  said  Leu'  Enoch  Stanton  early  engaged 
in  the  service  of  his  country  &  continued  therein  more  than  3  years  and 
Behaved  in  such  manner  as  to  gain  general  Applause  &  esteem  But 
through  the  great  distresses  of  the  times  and  the  heavy  burden  which  lay 
upon  your  memorialist  in  providing  for  so  large  a  family  of  children  He 
was  induced  together  with  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  friends  at  home 
to  apply  for  resignation  not  from  any  dislike  to  service  but  through  the 
apparant  necessity  of  his  being  personally  with  his  family,  for  he  often 
expressed  his  wishes  to  remain  in  the  service  of  his  country  and  most 
earnestly  desired  to  hold  an  active  part  in  humbling  the  pride  of  our  cruel 
enemies  &  beholding  that  happy  &  wished  for  period  when  tranquility 
should  pervade  this  continent  (alas  a  period  by  him  not  to  be  enjoyed) 
soon  after  his  return  to  his  family  from  Continental  service  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  were  pleased  to  decree  that  the  pay  of  the  army  should 
as  far  as  circumstances  would  admit  be  made  equal  to  their  first  expecta 
tions  &  engagements  but  notwithstanding  the  faithful  services  of  the  sd 
Leut  Stanton  (being  excused  from  service  but  few  days  before  said  de 
cree)  he  was  entirely  secluded  from  any  benefit  therefrom  though  honora 
bly  discharged  The  mention  of  which  hope  will  not  be  construed  by 
your  honors  as  any  designed  reflection  upon  Government  but  only  to  ex 
press  or  manifest  Loss  sustained 

Furthur  your  memorialist  Desirous  of  guarding  against  to  great  a  Di 
gression  from  the  matter  of  her  prayer  Begs  leave  to  Observe  one  other 
Circumstance  which  Conceve  Affected  her  (viz)  Your  Honabl*  Board  were 
pleased  to  Grant  a  Brief  for  the  Benefit  of  Sufferers  of  New  London  & 
Groton  on  s'1  6"1  of  September  1781  (the  Seat  of  Suffering  most  Assuredly 
for  that  Day) 

That  your  memorialist  Imagined  as  her  Sufferings  were  Equal  to  any 
and  Similar  to  many  that  She  was  included  therefore  applied  for  her  Ex 
pected  part  of  sd  Donation  but  was  Rejected  barely  on  the  Principle  of  not 
belonging  either  to  New  London  or  Groton  an  Observation  which  Trust 

1  The  above  petition,  which  was  not  granted,  will  give  a  slight  idea  of  the  trials 
and  sufferings  of  the  women  of  the  Revolutionary  period. 


280  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

will  not  be  Considered  as  Reflecting  Dishonor  (tho  a  matter  of  Specula 
tion  to  your  memorialist  as  well  as  many  others). 

But  to  Return,  About  one  year  and  half  before  Destruction  of  the 
Garrison  of  Fort  Griswold  A  vacancy  happened,  of  Leut  for  sd  Fort  which 
was  Offered  to  the  sd  Leut  Stanton  and  by  him  Cheerfully  Accepted  (af 
ter  having  put  his  Family  Affairs  in  such  Circumstances  that  he  could 
leave  them)  where  he  Steadly  remained  and  attended  Service  until!  that 
fatal  clay  which  deprived  him  of  Life  Fighting  Bleeding  &  Dying  in  the 
Cause  of  his  Injured  Country 

And  Whereas  there  are  monies  Due  from  this  State  for  Services  done 
by  the  sa  Leut  Stanton  as  well  as  money  due  for  the  Losses  Sustained,  as 
understood  is  Estimated  by  a  Commute  appointed  by  your  Hon*M  House 
for  that  Purpose  (tho  the  amount  allowed  have  not  yet  been  acquainted 
with)  These  are  therefore  to  Request  your  Honor'  that  you  would  be 
Pleased  to  Decree  &  Order  that  whatever  may  be  Due  might  be  paid 
from  Real  Money  which  may  be  Collected  from  the  Sale  of  Forfeited  Es 
tates  or  some  other  way  whereby  your  memorialist  may  receive  Benefit 

STONINGTON,  December  i,  1781. 
HON""-  COMMUTE 

GENTLEMEN,  —  The  following  is  a  List  of  Articles  Cloathing  &c  (Taken 
and  destroyed  by  the  Enemy  6lh  of  September  last)  Belonging  to  Lieut 
Enoch  Stanton  late  of  Stonington  Dec"1  which  is  hereby  transmitted  by 
the  Widow  of  said  Deca  to  the  Honbl°  Committe  Appointed  by  Gen1  As 
sembly  of  State  of  Connecticut  for  their  Inspection  Observance  &c 

Viz  One  Pr  new  Shoes  8.r.  I  P  old  d'°  fj.  2  P  new  worsted 

Stockings  los.  jC1-1^- 

One  P  Cotton  Stockings  6j.  I  P  Broadcloth  Breeches  new 

36j.  2.  2. 

One  new  holla  Shirt  24^.  3  do  part  wore  $6s.  I  new  Broadcloth 

jack1  48s.  5.  8. 

One  new  fustian  Jacket  24?.  I  Camblet  d*°  wore  6s.  5  Stocks 

15.!-.  2.  5. 

One  Silk  Hdkf  i$s.  I  Stamp"  do  8.f.  i  Silver  Stock  Buckle 

lov.  1.13. 

One  Pr  Silver  knee  Buckles  9^.  i  P  Shoe  Buckles  6s.  I  Pen 
knife  2s.  i  Blanket  12s.  i.  9. 

One  Swine  abt  8  score  fat  66s.  8d.  i  Sheet  los.  i  Pillow  & 

case  8s.  Cash  48^.  6.12.8 

One  Jacket  returned  which  in  action  was  Cut  &  Damaged  say 

Ss-  *_ 

Total  £21.  7.8 


Appendix.  281 

Brought  over  ,£21.  7.8 

List  of  Articles  which  by  Information  from  sd  Deceased  when 

he  left  home,  which  he  had  in  Fort  Griswold.     Supposed 

to  lost 

Viz     Four  new  Silk  Hdkf  6os.  i  dz  Barlow  penknives  24.?.  4.  4. 

Galloon,  Buttons,  and  Trimmings,  for  suit  of  Cloathes  -$os.  i.io. 

Two  Packs  of  Pins  $6s.  1.16. 


Total  28.17.8 

i  Sword  12. 


£29-  9-3 
WAITY  STANTON. 

Stonington  N  London  County  ss  Decbr  3  1781 

Personally  Appeared  the  above  named  Waity  Stanton  Wid"  and  Relict 
of  Lieut  Enoch  Stanton  and  made  oath  the  foregoing  according  to  her 
best  knowledge  &c 

Before  me  JOHN  WILLIAMS 

Justice  of  peace. 

A  Friend  and  Acquaintance  of  the  above  mentioned  Lieut  Enoch  Stan- 
ton  Decd  Begs  leave  to  Observe  some  Circumstances  of  which  he  is  Ac 
quainted  th°  perhaps  not  under  the  immediate  Control  and  Allowance  of 
the  Ho°b  Committe. 

Yet  however  would  wish  it  may  remain  annexed  to  the  foregoing  &c. 

Lieut  Enoch  Stanton  Dec"1  entered  early  the  Service  of  the  United 
States  as  an  officer,  he  remained  for  the  Term  of  about  3  years  in  the 
Continental  Army  in  that  Department  as  to  obtain  the  character  of  the 
soldier.  But  having  a  large  Family  at  home  viz  Wife  and  Seven  Young 
Children,  the  Eldest  then  abo'  12  Years  of  Age  the  hardness  of  the  Times 
Occasioned  by  the  rapid  Depreciation  of  money  with  the  Inconsiderable 
pay  of  the  Army  at  that  Time  as  well  as  delay  of  payment  rendered  it  en 
tirely  necessary  for  him  to  retire  from  the  Service  as  his  pay  was  no  way 
Adequate  to  the  Calls  of  his  Family 

Twas  with  great  Difficulty  he  could  Obtain  a  Discharge  having  gained 
the  Esteem  of  the  Army  as  an  Officer,  Active,  Skilful,  and  Spirited.  But 
upon  representing  the  necessity  thereof  in  regard  to  the  Situation  of 
his  Family,  he  Obtained  and  tho  his  Country  loudly  spoke  his  further 
Continuance  in  the  Service,  yet  the  reasons  Assigned  were  Allowed 
Satisfactory  and  he  very  politely  recd  the  Thanks  of  the  General  Officers 
for  his  signal  Services  while  with  them.  Twas  not  from  Disaffection  to 
Ihe  Service  which  any  way  Stimulated  him  to  retire,  he  alway  appearing 
as  it  were  in  his  Element  while  in  Service,  being  much  attached  to  the 
institutions  of  his  Country  and  never  more  pleased  than  when  he  held  an 
Active  part  in  her  Defence  &c 


282  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

After  some  time  of  Retirement  (from  the  Determined  appearance  of 
the  Enemy  to  continue  the  war)  he  having  in  some  manner  adjusted  and 
settled  the  affairs  of  his  Family  he  offered  himself  And  was  appointed  to 
the  Lieutenancy  of  Fort  Griswold  where  by  the  Fate  of  War  (tho  in  a 
weak  &  Debilitated  State  of  Health)  he  fell  a  Sacrafice  to  British  Rage 
and  honorably  resigned  his  Life  to  the  Cause  of  his  Injured  and  Op 
pressed  Country 

Would  further  observe  that  perhaps  unfortunately  for  his  Family  he 
Obtained  his  Resignation  :  but  a  few  days  before  the  Continental  Con 
gress  were  pleased  to  make  Allowance  to  Officers  &c  for  the  great  Losses 
they  had  Sustained  in  Consequence  of  the  great  Depreciation  of  Conti 
nental  Currency,  to  which  Grant  of  Congress  he  most  Assuredly  stood  En 
titled  if  by  faithful  Service  it  was  Obtainable  — •  how  far  such  matters 
may  be  reviewd  considered  &c  is  uncertain 

The  reasons  of  the  above  are  set  forth  with  a  View  to  revive  and  Es 
tablish  in  the  minds  of  those  who  may  have  the  Conducting  Regulating 
and  Adjusting  of  the  Affairs  of  those  who  have  fought  Bled  and  Died  in 
the  Service  of  their  Country  that  their  Families  may  not  be  deprived  of 
those  Benefits  to  which  tis  conceived  they  are  Entitled  from  tl^ir  mere- 
torious  Services  as  well  as  from  the  great  Suffering  they  Sustained  from 
short  pay  while  in  Service 

The  whole  submitted  &c  &c  &c 

ELNATHAN  ROSSETER. 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 

THE  name  of  Benedict  Arnold  has  been  a  synonym  of  treason,  ingrati 
tude,  and  baseness  for  more  than  a  century.  No  man  in  American  his 
tory  has  been  so  heartily  execrated.  In  English  history  only  Guy  Fawkes 
contests  with  him  the  palm  of  infamy.  Lapse  of  time  has  not  reversed 
the  judgment  instantly  pronounced  on  him  by  his  contemporaries.  And 
even  the  most  industrious  and  ingenious  of  advocates,  Isaac  N.  Arnold, 
Esq.,  who  has  recently  published  an  interesting  life  of  him,  has  been  able 
to  do  no  more  for  his  memory  than  to  make  a  fair  judicial  plea  for  charity 
in  mitigation  of  the  sentence  which  an  impartial  posterity  should  pro 
nounce  on  him.  However  severely  we  may  condemn  Benedict  Arnold, 
we  should  at  this  day  by  no  means  forget  his  valuable  services  in  the 
early  years  of  the  Revolution,  nor  the  high  opinion  which  Washington 
had  of  him  up  to  the  moment  of  his  flight  from  West  Point.  No  man 
among  the  officers  of  the  army  had  so  clear  a  conception  of  the  necessity 
of  a  prompt  movement  to  capture  Ticonderoga  and  Quebec.  And  only 
Ethan  Allen  started  with  equal  celerity  to  accomplish  that  purpose. 

Not  a  doubt  can  exist  but  that  if  the  Congress  had  amply  sustained 
his  plans,  which  Washington  adopted  and  energetically  seconded,  and 


Appendix.  283 

had  hastened  Montgomery  more  rapidly,  with  a  body  of  well  trained  men 
from  the  Indian  wars,  Quebec  would  have  been  captured  and  held  for  a 
time  at  least  in  alliance  with  the  Colonies.  Neither  can  there  be  a  doubt 
but  that  if  Arnold,  or  even  General  Schuyler,  had  commanded  at  Sara 
toga  instead  of  General  Gates,  Burgoyne  and  his  army  would  have  been 
made  prisoners  before  October,  and  that  without  any  conditions.  Up 
to  the  date,  the  igth  of  September,  1777,  Arnold  was  the  idol  of  the 
soldiers,  and  esteemed  by  Washington  as  the  bravest  and  most  far  see 
ing  of  the  generals.  Not  a  shadow  had  fallen  on  his  patriotism.  He 
had  been,  indeed,  aspersed  before  the  Congress  of  selfish  peculations,  of 
personal  ambition,  and  even  of  envy  toward  his  fellow-officers.  But 
not  one  of  these  charges  had  been  proven,  nor  have  they,  to  this  day, 
been  presumptively  established.  He  did  spend  money  freely,  but  it  ap 
pears  to  have  been  clone  that  he  might,  on  the  slender  and  irregular 
pay  of  a  subaltern  officer,  entertain  the  friends  of  his  country  like 
princes. 

The  truth  of  history  appears  to  be  revealing  itself  that  Arnold  was  a 
brave,  high-spirited,  ambitious  man,  loving  his  country  with  sincere  de 
votion,  and  serving  it  unselfishly  and  somewhat  ostentatiously.  He  had 
the  exalted  notions  of  personal  and  official  dignity  and  rank,  which  were 
common  among  chivalric  gentlemen,  and  which,  if  they  die  out  of  men's 
minds,  will  cost  the  nation  more  than  any  war  debt  we  have  ever  con 
tracted.  He  foresaw  what  the  proper  conduct  of  the  war  demanded,  and 
in  carrying  out  his  plans  and  the  orders  of  superiors  he  incurred  risks 
and  won  successes  or  performed  prodigies  of  bravery  which  few  other 
men  did.  His  march  through  the  woods  of  Maine  to  Quebec  exceeds  the 
famous  march  of  the  ten  thousand  to  the  sea.  His  ship  fight  on  Lake 
Champlain  is,  if  not  the  best,  yet  among  the  best,  fights  ever  made  by 
Americans  on  the  water.  His  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix  is  nowhere  excelled 
for  its  strategy  or  the  consequences  it  produced.  And  his  battle  of  the 
iQth  of  September,  1777,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  General  Gates,  who, 
but  for  Arnold's  foresight  and  disobedient,  energetic  bravery,  would  him 
self  have  been  captured  or  defeated  by  Burgoyne,  was  really  the  one 
tiling  which  made  the  Revolution  successful.  General  Philip  Schuyler 
might  have  won  it  had  he  been  permitted  to  continue  in  command  of  the 
army.  Arnold,  had  he  obtained  the  commission  of  first  major-general, 
which  he  had  fairly  won  and  which  he  ought  to  have  had,  would  have 
finished  the  war  at  that  one  brilliant  battle.  But  the  vain,  intriguing,  in 
competent  General  Gates  never  could  have  organized  a  victory  or  won 
one  after  others  had  planned  for  it. 

The  neglect  which  Arnold  had  encountered  before  this  time,  and  the 
contempt  with  which  incompetence  in  the  Congress  and  in  that  division 
of  the  army  was  able  to  treat  him,  appear  to  have  completely  soured  and 
changed  him  from  a  self-sacrificing  patriot  into  a  conspiring  traitor.  No 
plea  of  slighted  talent  or  of  degradation  in  rank  ought  to  be  allowed  even 
to  him.  For  he  had  been  early  in  the  cause  of  Independence,  and  es- 


284  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

pecially  zealous ;  he  had  made  a  reputation  for  wisdom  in  council  and 
valor  in  the  field  wide  as  the  continent ;  he  had  done  as  much  as  any 
man  to  make  the  breach  between  his  country  and  England  impassable  ; 
and  when  he  threw  himself  into  the  gulf  it  only  became  the  wider.  And 
the  studied,  crafty  planning,  the  unwarrantable  decoy  of  a  British  general 
into  the  disgrace  of  a  spy,  and  finally  the  hasty  flight,  —  the  first  and,  as 
far  as  we  know,  his  only  act  of  cowardice,  —  all  have  made  him  justly  exe 
crated.  Still  let  his  name  hang  on  the  gibbet  of  infamy  to  warn  patriots 
of  his  fate  ;  but  do  not  let  us  forget  how  brave  he  was,  how  sensitive  to 
personal  aspersion,  how  reckless  of  his  own  life  and  resources,  how  in 
spiriting  to  his  men,  and  how  much  he  was  trusted  by  the  noblest  of  our 
Revolutionary  men,  —  Schuyler,  Hamilton,  Washington,  and  others.  Let 
us  honor  what  he  was,  and  despise  what  he  made  himself  by  an  unwise 
betrayal  of  his  trust. 

The  school-boys  of  Norwich  are  familiar  with  the  acrostic  upon  the 
traitor's  name  said  to  have  been  composed  impromptu  by  Oliver  Arnold, 
a  cousin  of  Benedict,  on  being  solicited  by  a  dinner  party  of  Englishmen 
to  make  an  exhibition  of  his  talent  for  their  amusement  :  — 

"  Born  for  a  curse  to  virtue  and  mankind, 
Earth's  broadest  realm  ne'er  knew  so  black  a  mind. 
Night's  sable  veil  your  crimes  can  never  hide, 
Each  one  so  great  't  would  glut  historic  tide. 
Defunct,  your  cursed  memory  will  live 
In  all  the  glare  that  infamy  can  give. 
Curses  of  ages  will  attend  your  name, 
Traitors  alone  will  glory  in  your  shame. 

"  Almighty  vengeance  sternly  waits  to  roll 
Rivers  of  sulphur  on  your  treacherous  soul. 
Nature  looks  shuddering  back  with  conscious  dread 
On  such  a  tarnished  blot  as  she  has  made. 
Let  hell  receive  you  riveted  in  chains, 
Doomed  to  the  hottest  focus  of  its  flames" 


From  "The  Colored  Patriots  of  the  American  Revolution"  published  in 

1855. 

The  seventy-second  anniversary  of  the  memorable  tragedy  at  Groton 
Heights,  in  1781,  was  celebrated  by  the  people  of  New  London  and  vicin 
ity  on  Wednesday,  September  7th,  1853.  The  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop 
was  the  orator  of  the  occasion. 

The  orator's  omission  to  make  a  brief  allusion,  even,  to  the  two  colored 
soldiers  called  out  the  following  tribute  from  William  Anderson,  of  New 
London,  Connecticut  :  — 


Appendix.  285 

"  I  stood,"  he  says,  "on  the  Heights  of  Groton,  a  few  days  since,  lis 
tening  to  the  praises  of  the  white  heroes  from  the  lips  of  Hon.  R.  C.  Win- 
throp,  W.  I..  Hammersley,  Esq.,  Governor  Seymour,  and  others.  I  saw 
there  on  the  battle-ground  the  descendants  of  the  gallant  Ledyard  (or, 
rather  the  connections),  with  those  of  the  Averys,  the  Lathams,  the  Per 
kinses,  the  Baileys,  and  others,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  that  liberty  so 
dearly  bought  by  their  ancestors.  I  was  glad  that  they  were  free  and 
living  out  their  God-given  rights.  My  mind  became  excited  with  the 
scene  ;  but  on  reflection  my  excitement  was  calmed  down  by  the  sober 
thought  of  an  unpleasant  reality ;  and,  you  will  ask,  why  was  I  sad  ? 
Well,  as  Shakespeare  says,  '  I  will  to  you  a  tale  unfold  ;  '  and  while  you 
bear  with  me  in  the  recital  I  know  your  sympathies  will  attend  me  in  the 
sequel. 

"  September  6,  1781,  New  London  was  taken  by  the  British,  under  the 
command  of  that  traitor  Arnold.  The  small  band  composing  the  garri 
son  retreated  to  the  fort  opposite,  in  the  town  of  Groton,  and  there  re 
solved  either  to  gain  a  victory  or  die  for  their  country.  The  latter  pledge 
was  faithfully  redeemed,  and  by  none  more  gallantly  than  the  two  colored 
men,  and,  if  the  survivors  of  that  day's  carnage  tell  truly,  they  fought  like 
tigers,  and  were  butchered  after  the  gates  were  burst  open.  One  of  these 
men  was  the  brother  of  my  grandmother,  by  the  name  of  Lambert,  but 
called  Lambo,  —  since  chiselled  on  the  marble  monument  by  the  Amer 
ican  classic  appellation  of  '  Sambo.'1  The  name  of  the  other  man  was 
Jordan  Freeman.  Lambert  was  living  with  a  gentleman  in  Groton  by  the 
name  of  Latham,  so,  of  course,  he  was  called  Lambert  Latham.  Mr. 
Latham  and  Lambert,  on  the  day  of  the  massacre,  were  at  work  in  a  field 
at  a  distance  from  the  house.  On  hearing  the  alarm  upon  the  approach 
of  the  enemy,  Mr.  Latham  started  for  home,  leaving  Lambert  to  drive  the 
team  up  to  the  house.  On  arriving  at  the  house,  Lambert  was  told  that 
Mr.  Latham  had  gone  up  to  the  fort.  Lambert  took  the  cattle  from  the 
team,  and,  making  all  secure,  started  for  the  point  of  defence,  where  he 
arrived  before  the  British  began  the  attack  ;  and  here  let  me  say,  my 
dear  friend,  that  there  was  not  any  negro  pew  1  in  that  fort,  although 
there  was  some  praying  as  well  as  fighting.  But  there  they  stood  side  by 
side  and  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  after  a  few  rounds  of  firing  each  man's 
visage  was  so  blackened  by  the  smoke  of  powder  that  Lambert  and  Jor 
dan  had  but  little  to  boast  of  on  the  score  of  color.  The  assault  on  the 
part  of  the  British  was  a  deadly  one,  and  manfully  resisted  by  the  Amer 
icans,  even  to  the  clubbing  of  their  muskets  after  their  ammunition  was 
expended  ;  but  finally  the  little  garrison  was  overcome,  and,  on  the  en 
trance  of  the  enemy,  the  British  officer  inquired,  "Who  commands  this 
fort  ?"  The  gallant  Ledyard  replied,  "  I  once  did  ;  you  do  now,"  at  the 

1  I  learn  Mr.  Anderson  had  had  trouble  with  one  of  the  churches  of  the  tows 
over  the  matter  of  church  pews. 


286 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


same  time  handing  his  sword,  which  was  immediately  run  through  his 
body  to  the  hilt  by  the  officer.  This  was  the  commencement  of  an  un 
paralleled  slaughter.  Lambert,  being  near  Colonel  Ledyard  when  he  was 
slain,  retaliated  upon  the  officer  by  thrusting  his  bayonet  through  his 
body.  Lambert,  in  return,  received  from  the  enemy  thirty-three  bayonet 
wounds,  and  thus  fell  nobly  avenging  the  death  of  his  commander. 

"  These  facts  were  given  me  on  the  spot  at  the  time  of  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  by  two  veterans  who  were  present  at  the  battle." 


A  List  of  all  the  Children  now  Living  of  the  Defenders  of  Fort 

Griswold. 

Of  the  children  of  the  defenders  of  Fort  Griswold,  the  following  is  a 
list  of  all  those  who  are  living  this  Centennial  Year,  as  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  learn  :  — 


Of  Caleb  Avery  : 
Of  Joshua  Bill : 
Of  John  Daboll : 

Of  Samuel  Edgecomb,  Jr. 
Of  Ebenezer  Fish  : 


Of  Samuel  W.  Jaques  : 
Of  Andrew  Gallup  : 


Of   William   Latham   (of 
Fort  Hill) : 


Of  Holsey  Sanford  : 


Of  Edward  Stanton  : 


Mrs.  Eliza  Avery  Williams,  Groton. 
Mrs.  Betsey  Bill  Darrow,  New  London. 
David  Luther  Daboll,  Providence,  R.  I. 
William  Vincent  Daboll,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Daniel  D.  Edgecomb,  Mystic  River,  Conn. 
Ebenezer  Fish,  Brooklyn,  .Ohio. 
Daniel  Fish,  Brooklyn,  Ohio. 
Eunice,   wife    of   John    Boyden,    Brooklyn, 

Ohio. 
Mercey,  wife  of  Mumford  Burdick,  Rockville, 

R.  I. 

Andrew  Henry  Gallup,  South  Omina,  Iowa. 
Asa  Lyman  Gallup,  Ledyard,  Conn. 
Harriet  Gallup,  Ledyard,  Conn. 

John  D.  Latham,  Noank. 

James  A.  Latham,  Noank. 

Silas  Latham,  Noank. 

Abby  J.,  wife  of  J.  D.  Spicer,  Noank. 

Hannah,  wife  of  William  Adams,  Ledyard. 

Henry  Latham,  Mystic  River. 

Mrs.  Miriam  Sanford  Searle,  East  Hamp 
ton,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Sanford  Rude,  Huntington, 
Mass. 

David  Stanton,  Stonington. 

Edward  Stanton,  Stonington. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Stanton  Wheeler,  Stonington. 


Appendix  287 

The  following  letters  written  by  Zabdiel  Rogers  and  Thomas  Mumford, 
Esq.,  I  am  able  to  give  through  the  kindness  of  Gordon  L.  Ford,  Esq., 
of  Brooklyn,  in  whose  possession  are  the  originals. 

They  are  especially  interesting  from  having  been  written  so  soon  after 
the  disaster. 

N  LONDON.  ;th.  Sept.  1781 
DK.  SIR: 

I  have  the  Unhappinefs  to  acquaint  you  Genl.  Arnold  with  about 
1500  Or  2000  Men  Landed  Here  Yesterday  Morning  &  have  Burnt  this 
Town  From  the  Court  House  to  Nathl.  Shaw  :  House  which  was  Sav'd 
&  from  Giles  Mamfords  House  to  Capt.  Richards  Store  On  Both  Sides 
Except  a  few  Houses  on  the  West  Side  of  the  Way  —  &  All  the  Stores, 

Houses  &C  '  from  Elliots  Tavern  To  the  Fort They  Have  Burnt 

your  House  &  All  Your  Stores  at  Groton  &  Most  of  the  Houses  on 
the  Bank  —  They  Attack 'd  the  fort  at  Groton  with  Great  Spirit  but 
were  Repuls  'd  with  Lofs  Several  Times  by  Col?  Ledyard  who  Com 
manded,  who  was  Oblidg'd  to  Surrender  to  Superior  Force,  after  the 
fort  Had  Surrender'd  They  Inhumanely  Put  him  to  Death  as  Also  Capt. 
Peter  Richards  and  A  Number  of  Others — Giles,  was  Enga'gd  with  the 
Enemy  the  whole  Day  And  is  Much  unwell  to  Day  thro' his  fatigue  — 
your  Family  Went  Back.  Suppose  to  Paquatonnack.  where  Capt.  Mum- 
fords  Wife  &  Children  have  Gone  —  The  Goods  that  Were  divided  I 
was  Lucky  Eno.  to  Get  to  Norwich  The  Ev'g  Before  the  Enemy  Landed 

—  Giles   had  a  Very  Slight  Wound Cannot  now  Write  you  further 

Particulars   Must  Referr  you  to  What  I  have  Wrote  the  Gov!  &  Shall 
Write  again    Imeadiately  —  The    Enemy  are    Now    Under   Sail    Going 
Away  —  Shou'd  think  it  Best  for  you  to  Come  Down  — 
I  am  With  Great  Affection  Your  friend 

ZAB :  ROGERS l 

Thos.  Mumford  Esq? 

(Addressed) 

Thos.  Mumford  Esq. 
Per  Express  Now  at  Hartford 


GROTON  Q'*  September  1781 
SIR  : 

I  have  this  Ins!  Rec*  yours  of  Yesterday  p'  MT  Sam.  Raymond  Ex- 
prefs,  Requesting  a  narrative  of  the  Barbarous  Scence  of  the  Enemy 
Commited  on  the  Brave  Garison  that  Nobly  defended  Fort  Griswl  Col! 
Ledyard  prevailed  on  a  Number  of  the  brave  defenders  of  American  Lib 
erty  to  Joyn  him  in  the  defence  of  Said  fortrefs  added  to  the  Small  Gari- 

1  This  was  Zabdiel  Rogers,  colonel  of  the  2oth  regiment  of  militia,  who  is 
spoken  of  by  Jonathan  Brooks  in  his  account.  His  name  appears  in  the  court- 
martial  report. 


288  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

son  amounting  in  the  whole  to  about  150,  who  nobly  defended  Said  for- 
trefs  against  About  1000  picked  Brittish  &  foreign  Troops,  who  Attacked 
that  fort  Sword  in  hand,  &  were  Repulsed  halfe  an  hour,  during  which 
time  the  Enemy  Sufferd  About  \  of  their  numbers  in  killed  &  wounded, 
but  being  overpowered  in  numbers  Col?  Ledyard  finding  the  Enemy  had 
gained  pofsefsion  of  some  part  of  the  Fort  &  entering  at  the  Gate,  having 
three  men  kill'd,  tho?  proper  to  Surrender  himself  with  the  Garison  pris 
oners,  &  presented  his  Sword  to  an  officer  who  Rec*  the  Same  &  imedi- 
ately  Lunged  it  thr?  the  Brave  Commandant  when  the  Ruffans  (no  doubt 
by  order)  pierced  him  in  many  places  with  Bayonets,  Lieu'.'  Chapman  & 
Stanton  of  the  Garison,  with  upwards  of  70  others  were  inhumanly  Mur- 
derdered  with  the  Colonel,  Chiefly  the  most  worthy  inhabitants  of  this 
Town,  my  Son  Cap1  Peter  Richards  makes  one  of  this  number  —  About 
forty  are  Dangerously  wounded,  &  About  forty  made  prisoners  whose 
Lives  were  Spared  by  the  interposition  of  a  Brittish  officer  who  entered 
the  Fort  too  Late  to  Save  the  Brave  Col?  Ledyard  &c,  the  names  of  the 
whole  killed  &  wounded  I  have  not  time  Just  now  to  Send  your  Excel 
lency,  never  was  a  post  more  nobly  defended,  nor  Brittish  Cruelty  more 
wantonly  displayed,  we  have  Lost  the  flour  of  this  Town  both  in  officers 
&  Respectable  inhabitants  —  my  House  with  the  Chief  of  the  others  on 
the  Bank  are  Burnt  &  many  families  Left  destitute  of  food  &  Raiment, 
all  the  Stores  in  New  London  &  more  than  halfe  the  Houfes  are  Like 
wise  Consumed,  I  Conclude  your  Excellency  is  informed  the  infamous 
arnold  Commanded,  he  dined  with  Jerremiah  Miller  &  afterwards  had  his 
House  Burnt  with  the  others,  I  Can  give  your  Excellency  no  encourage 
ment  from  Our  privateers,  the  Two  Brigs  I  am  Concerned  in  are  Sunk  to 
Save  them,  their  Sails  &  Riggen  all  Consumed  in  Stores,  one  other  has 
no  guns,  so  that  only  one  Remains  fit  for  Duty  unequal  to  the  plan  pro 
posed,  I  here  there  is  Two  French  Ships  of  force  at  Newport — Gen! 
Tyler  (now  here)  has  tho'  proper  to  order  Some  publick  Stores  dealt  out 
for  the  present  Relief  of  those  that  have  Lost  their  all,  &  no  Husband 
&c  to  provide  them  Support,  he  wishes  to  know  your  Excellency's  pleas- 
are  Respecting  his  Conduct  herein,  &  has  appointed  DoctT  Turner1  Super 
intendent  of  the  Hospital  department  &  direct  him  to  Supply  the  need- 
full  for  the  wounded,  I  gave  him  my  Advice  in  this  matter 

The  foregoing  is  all  that  is  preserved  of  what  is  evidently  a  copy  of  a 
letter  written  by  Thomas  Mumford,  of  Groton,  to  Jonathan  Trumbull, 
Sen.,  then  governor  of  Connecticut. 

He  seems  to  have  been  in  Hartford  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  and  returned 
on  receipt  of  the  first  news  of  it  or  on  receipt  of  Colonel  Rogers'  letter. 
Katharine  Mumford,  his  daughter,  was  the  wife  of  Captain  Peter  Rich 
ards. 


1  Philip  Turner  whose  portrait  is  given  on  page  216. 


«- 


Appendix.  289 

THE  following  biographical  sketches  I  was  unable  to  obtain  in 
time  to  insert  in  their  proper  place,  and  add  them  here  rather  than 
omit  them  entirely. 

ASAEL  and  ZIBA  WoonwoRTH  were  only  boys  of  nineteen  and  seven 
teen  years  of  age  when  both  were  in  the  action  at  Fort  Griswold,  and 
both  were  wounded.  Asael  was  wounded  in  the  neck  and  taken  to  the 
hospital.  Ziba  was  shot  in  the  leg,  and  fell  among  the  dead  and  dying. 
He  was  so  weak  from  loss  of  blood  he  could  not  move  so  much  as  a  finger, 
nor  so  much  as  groan.  When  men  came  to  take  away  the  dead  LO  bury 
them,  he  was  thrown  upon  the  cart  among  them.  He  was  perfectly  con 
scious  all  the  time,  and  he  prayed  for  strength  to  make  some  sign.  He 
said  he  made  a  vow,  a  promise  to  God,  if  He  would  spare  his  life,  he 
would  devote  it  to  his  service.  And  lie  groaned  aloud.  The  men  who 
were  driving  the  cart  heard  the  groan,  stopped  the  cart,  and  rescuing  him 
from  this  trying  position,  took  him  to  hospital,  saving  him  from  being 
buried  alive  !  He  said  his  heart  was  full  of  love  for  God,  and  he  fully 
intended  to  devote  his  life  to  God's  service  ;  but  when  he  recovered  and 
was  again  with  his  gay  companions,  he  forgot  his  vow.  He  never  fully 
recovered  from  his  wound,  always  being  lame  and  stiff  in  one  knee.  Af 
ter  a  while  Ziba  married  a  lovely  girl,  whom  he  quite  worshipped.  Her 
name  was  Lucretia,  and  he  called  her  "his  beautiful  Crete."  He  had  to 
leave  his  young  wife  to  go  up  into  Vermont  to  buy  a  farm.  He  purchased 
wild  land,  where  now  lies  the  city  of  Montpelier.  He  was  detained  longer 
than  he  anticipated  away  from  his  wife,  to  clear  some  of  his  land  and  roll 
up  a  log-house.  When  he  returned  for  his  loved  wife,  she  was  not  able 
to  go  with  him,  and  in  a  few  days  she  died.  So  he  had  to  return  alone. 
Then  he  thought  of  his  vow.  This  great  affliction,  taking  his  idol, 
brought  him  to  his  senses,  he  said,  and  he  immediately  began  preparing 
himself  for  the  ministry.  I  do  not  know  how  long  after  this  he  began  to 
preach,  but  after  Montpelier  was  settled  he  was  called  to  preach  there, 
and  remained  with  "his  people."  as  he  used  to  call  them,  preaching  to 
them  as  long  as  he  lived.  I  well  remember  him  ;  he  was  a  grand  old 
man.  His  last  visit  was  in  the  year  1824.  In  his  life  an  I  conversation 
ne  seemed  fully  to  redeem  his  vow  of  devotion  to  the  service  of  his  divine 
Master.  Of  Asael  Woodworth  I  do  not  know  any  incident  in  particular. 
He,  as  well  as  uncle  Ziba,  always  suffered  from  the  wounds  received  at 
Groton.  neither  ever  fully  recovering,  though  they  lived  to  be  men  of 
years.  The  brothers  characterized  the  massacre  as  a  most  bloody  and 
heartless  scene. 

[The  above  is  obtained  from  Amanda  (Woodworth)  Perkins,  of  Brook- 
field,  Madison  County,  New  York.  Mrs.  Perkins  is  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Woodworth,  brother  of  Asael  and  Ziba,  and  as  far  as  known  the  last  living 
grandchild  of  Benjamin  Woodworth,  whose  children  numbered  nineteen.] 
19 


290  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

SAMUEL  HILL,  as  I  learn,  lived  about  two  miles  from  the  river,  on 
the  road  to  Centre  Groton.  The  names  of  his  five  children  were  Levi, 
John,  Elisha,  Moses,  and  Esther,  who  was  but  eight  days  old  at  her 
father's  death.  Quite  a  number  of  the  grandchildren  are  now  living  in 
Groton. 

WALTER  BuDDiNGTON,1  as  I  learn  from  his  great-grandson,  George 
W.  Brown,  arose  at  the  sound  of  the  alarm-guns  on  the  morning  of  the 
battle,  and  told  his  wife  there  would  be  bloody  work  that  day,  as  in  a 
dream  he  had  seen  the  body  of  a  man  lying  across  their  garden  wall. 
After  breakfast  he  took  his  gun  from  the  deer-horns  over  the  fire-place 
and  started  for  the  fort,  where  he  was,  through  the  engagement.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  and  confined  on  board  the  Jersey  prison-ship  at  New  York. 
In  about  a  year  he  was  released,  and  with  a  companion  started  for  Groton 
afoot.  In  their  travels,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  they  asked  food  at  a  place 
in  Connecticut,  and  were  given  a  most  inviting  breakfast,  of  which  Bud- 
dington  ate  sparingly,  knowing  his  weakened  condition  from  long  confine 
ment  and  deficient  food.  His  companion,  not  so  cautious,  could  not  for 
bear  eating  heartily,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  before  reaching 
home.  Buddington  arrived  safely  home,  where  he  died  April  8,  1800, 
aged  sixty-eight  }ears. 

SAMUEL  BEAUMONT  is  reported  by  a  family  tradition,1  which  presents 
every  appearance  of  authenticity,  as  one  of  five  brothers  of  Lebanon,  all 
of  whom  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  one  of  the  defend 
ers  of  Fort  Griswold,  taken  a  prisoner  to  New  York,  from  whence  he  re 
turned  when  exchanged.  He  was  born  in  1755  and  died  in  1814. 

He  was  represented  at  the  Centennial  by  his  grand  nephew,  Dr.  Leon 
ard  Bacon,  of  New  Haven. 

PERKINSES.  —  Later  information  than  that  on  pages  244  to  247  enables 
me  to  add  that  Squire  Luke  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly 
173610  1776,  and  was  one  of  the  first  judges  appointed  under  the  new 
government. 

Obadiah  was  noted  during  the  rest  of  his  life  for  his  generosity  to  the 
widows  and  children  of  the  men  who  were  killed  in  the  action,  and  his 
hatred  of  the  English,  who  had  inflicted  the  wounds,  from  which  he 
always  suffered  and  which  finally  ended  his  life.  Many  of  his  compan 
ions,  he  asserted,  were  brutally  bayoneted  to  death  after  being  helplessly 
wounded.  Luke  Jr.  is  mentioned  by  EInathan  in  his  will  as  his  son; 
the  other  Luke,  who  is  spoken  of  as  brother  to  EInathan,  as  said  by 
the  grandchildren  of  EInathan,  "  was  in  no  way  related  to  our  family  ;  the 
name  is  simply  a  coincidence." 

1  The  name  oE  this  man  should  be  added  to  the  list  of  those  carried  away  prisoners- 


Appendix.  291 

PRISONERS   CARRIED  TO  NEW   YORK,   NOT  ON   PREVIOUS  LIST. 

Walter  Buddington,  of  Groton,  and 
Samuel  Beaumont,  of  Lebanon, 
whose  son  John  is  living  in  Lebanon. 

On  page  100  is  this  note  from  a  former  book,  which  I  accepted,  not  tak 
ing  the  trouble  to  verify  it.  "  It  is  said  by  old  citizens  that  Arnold's  point 
of  observation  was  the  Winthrop  tomb,  whence  he  directed  the  move 
ments  of  his  soldiers  in  the  destruction  of  the  town."  —  H. 

In  looking  up  other  matters  I  find  that  the  Winthrop  tomb  was  not 
built  till  1789,  though  there  is  no  doubt  Arnold  stood  either  in  the  burial 
ground,  or  in  the  steeple  of  the  old  First  Church,  which  was  a  little  to  the 
south  of  it,  in  both  of  which  places  he  is  put  by  tradition. 

The  disinterment  of  Major  Montgomery  occurred  about  1805  or  1806, 
as  I  learn  from  a  grandson  of  Capt.  John  Williams  (one  of  the  killed), 
then  about  nine  years  old.  He  described  the  position  of  the  skeleton  of 
Montgomery  and  a  fellow-officer  (probably  Willock),  as  sitting  in  the  east 
and  west  ends  of  the  grave.  In  the  removal  a  tooth  of  Montgomery's 
dropped  out  which  the  boy  picked  up.  While  carrying  it  home  he  showed 
it  to  his  uncle,  a  blacksmith,  son  of  Ezekiel  Baily,  who  was  killed  in  the 
fort.  The  uncle  took  it  and  examined  it  with  great  interest,  asking  ques 
tions  and  blowing  his  forge  with  energy  the  while,  and  when  the  fire  was 
bright  cast  the  tooth  into  it  with  a  remark  very  like  an  imprecation. 

WILLIAM  OR  STILLMAN  HOTMAN.  —  The  fabricated  epitaph,  said  to 
be  copied  from  the  tombstone  in  New  London,  of  this  man  who  never 
existed,  is  truly  pathetic,  and  has  given  a  theme  for  many  sympathetic 
poets,  whose  sorrows  over  an  artificial  man,  with  the  epitaph  from  which 
they  all  grow,  quite  often  go  the  rounds  of  the  newspapers  of  the  country. 
No  resident  of  New  London  has  ever  seen  such  a  tombstone,  though 
several  have  offered  rewards  for  its  discovery.  Miss  Caulkins  pro 
nounced  it  a  forgery,  and  my  finding  what  is  no  doubt  the  original  ena 
bles  me  to  say  it  carries  its  own  refutation  on  its  face  in  its  evident 
falsehoods. 

This  epitaph  first  made  its  appearance  in  a  Providence  literary  journal 
in  1835,  and  contained  211  words,  while  Colonel  Ledyard's  quite  elaborate 
original  headstone  had  only  94. 

• 

It  seems  to  me  highly  probable  that  the  rolls  of  the  companies  of  Cap 
tains  Adam  Shapley  and  William  Latham  are  destroyed,  since  a  search 
'n  the  State  Archives  at  Hartford  fails  to  reveal  aught  of  them,  except 
the  fact  that  they  are  not  there,  and  were  almost  certainly  sent  to  Wash 
ington  as  a  part  of  the  vouchers  when  the  settlement  was  made  between 
the  General  Government  and  the  State  of  Connecticut  for  the  moneys 


292  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

expended  in  the  prosecution  of  the  Revolution.  A  search  at  Washington 
reveals  the  fact  that  they  are  not  now  there,  most  likely  destroyed  in  one 
of  the  fires  which  wasted  the  War  and  Pension  Departments  in  Novem 
ber,  1800,  January,  1801,  December  14,  1814,  and  in  1835. 

A  list  of  the  killed  from  Groton  was  made  out  by  one  of  its  prominent 
citizens  soon  after  the  battle,  in  which  the  married  and  single  men  are 
designated.  Of  a  list  of  60  only  18  were  single  men,  and  there  were  two 
married  men  who  died  afterward  and  are  not  in  that  list,  making  44  wid 
ows  in  Groton  alone. 

The  following  sermon  I  deemed  not  an  inappropriate  ending  to  my 
compilation  of  the  history  of  the  battle,  the  heroism  of  the  garrison,  and 
the  sufferings  of  the  survivors.  It  puts  in  the  strongest  light  the  cause  of 
the  attack,  and  the  connection  between  this  raid  and  the  crowning  victory 
of  Yorktown.  It  calls  attention  to  many  points  likely  to  be  overlooked 
by  the  casual  reader,  and  which  it  seemed  to  me  well  to  have  the  eyes  of 
the  people  directed  to.  These  men  manned  the  fort  in  answer  to  the  call 
of  the  alarm-guns,  at  whose  signal  it  was  the  duty  of  all  the  men  to  as 
semble  for  defence,  under  guidance  of  their  officers.  (Many  men  of  the 
town  failed  to  respond  to  the  alarm,  —  why,  at  this  day,  we  know  not.) 
These  men  who  did  their  duty  as  they  found  it  and  left  the  result  to  God 
we  cannot  too  highly  honor,  though  it  seems  a  long  waiting  for  just  ap 
preciation,  that  not  till  the  end  of  a  century  is  an  annalist  found  whose 
admiration  for  their  deeds  led  to  the  attempt  to  gather  the  names  of  all 
the  men  in  the  fort,  both  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 


HEROISM  AND  RELIGION. 

A    SERMON 

IN   THE 

FIRST   CHURCH    OF   CHRIST    IN    NEW   LONDON 

BY   EDWARD   WOOLSEY   BACON,   PASTOR. 

PREACHED 

SUNDAY,   SEPTEMBER  4,    1881. 
AND  SUGGESTED  BY 

THE    HUNDREDTH    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE    BATTLE    OF 
GROTON    HEIGHTS. 


SERMON. 


"These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having 
seen  them  and  greeted  them  from  afar,  and  having  confessed  that  they 
were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.  For  they  that  say  such  things 
make  it  manifest  that  they  are  seeking  after  a  country  of  their  own."  — 
HEII.  xi.  13,  14. 

IN  this  nth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  all  the  glorious 
scenes  of  Hebrew  history  are  made  to  pass  in  procession  before  us.  It  is 
a  very  galaxy  of  heroes.  All  ages  and  all  circumstances  are  made  to  con 
tribute  to  it,  as  the  writer  gathers  up  into  one  impetuous  torrent  of  ex 
ample  all  the  men  and  women  who  in  any  good  and  courageous  way  had 
illuminated  the  name  of  the  chosen  people,  that  out  of  their  various  yet 
common  experiences,  out  of  their  heroism  in  failure  rather  than  their  tri 
umphs,  his  brother  Christian  disciples  may  get  courage  in  their  later  day 
and  under  their  different  trials.  Out  of  every  age,  from  Abel  to  the  times 
of  the  Maccabees,  and  by  conduct  as  various  as  the  centuries  and  circum 
stances  in  which  they  lived,  these  examples,  each  so  different  from  the 
others,  yet  all  alike  in  spirit,  are  gathered  up,  and  the  appeal  is  made  to 
yet  another  phase  of  courage  and  another  exemplification  of  faith  :  "  Let 
us  also,  seeing  we  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let 
us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus." 
The  lovely  Abel  and  the  mocking  Sarah,  the  saintly  Enoch  and  the  har 
lot  Kaliab,  the  meditative  Isaac  and  the  ferocious  Jephthah,  the  scheming 
Jacob  and  the  honest  Samuel,  —  these  are  not  much  alike  as  we  remember 
their  lives,  yet  they  all  contribute  to  the  appeal,  "  Let  us  also  run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us."  Courage  is  always  one.  Faith 
is  always  the  same.  The  circumstances  only  are  diverse  that  precipitate 
courage  and  faith  into  action,  and  make  them  visible,  and  crystallize  them 
in  glory. 

Do  you  remember  how  many  of  these  were  heroes  in  failure  ?  We 
are  too  apt  to  think  of  them  as  conquerors  all.  But  how  many  of  them 
are  glorious  because  they  consented  to  failure  when  duty  called  them  to 
it,  or  placed  it  upon  them.  Indeed,  we  may  say  none  of  them  saw  full 


296  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

success  ;  not  even  Abraham,  nor  Moses,  nor  David  ;  "  these  all  died  in 
faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having  seen  them  and  greeted 
them  from  afar,  and  having  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and  pil 
grims  on  the  earth.  For  they  that  say  such  things  make  it  manifest  that 
they  are  seeking  after  a  country  of  their  own."  In  them  all  heroism  and 
religion  were  blended,  and  these  heroes  were  helpful  to  the  early  Chris 
tians,  and  are  helpful  to  us,  by  the  thought  that  they  are  men,  by  the  very 
recollection  of  their  infirmities  and  sins,  by  the  very  fact  of  their  failures, 
as  well  as  by  their  self-denial,  their  martyrdom,  and  the  faith  that  led 
them  to  it. 

The  examination  of  this  assemblage  of  heroes  shows  how  proper  it 
is  to  call  up  and  profit  by  the  examples  of  like  heroism  that  are  afforded 
by  any  age,  as  this  writer  calls  them  from  every  age  until  his  own,  and 
to  use  the  good  qualities  of  men,  their  courage,  their  faith,  however  ex 
hibited,  as  a  stimulant  to  the  religious  life  in  quiet  or  in  boisterous  times. 
The  burst  of  enthusiasm  which  even  yet  echoes  from  the  walls  of  Jericho 
into  our  ears  is  repeated  again  when  we  remember  the  field  by  the  small 
town  of  Liitzen,  in  Saxony,  when  the  November  morning  broke  foggy, 
and  as  the  mists  rose,  about  ten  o'clock,  the  little  army  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  about  half  the  number  of  their  enemy,  were  seen  kneeling  in 
their  ranks  and  heard  singing,  "A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God,"  and  the 
hymn  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  that  we  have  sung  this  morning,  "  Fear  not, 
O  little  flock,  the  foe  !  "  and  then  charged,  to  lose  their  king  but  to  win 
the  day.  It  echoes  again,  as,  from  the  plain  of  Dunbar,  we  hear  Cromwell 
at  the  head  of  his  little  army,  but  half  the  size  of  that  opposed,  greeting 
the  rising  sun  with  the  prophetic  words,  '•  Let  God  arise,  and  let  his  ene 
mies  be  scattered  !  "  And  the  old  tyranny  fell.  And  it  .echoes  again,  the 
more  loudly  now,  as  in  this  presence  we  remember  the  men  of  these 
streets  and  river  banks  one  hundred  years  ago,  who  on  a  Sunday  were  in 
church  and  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  on  a  Thursday  so  soaked  the  soil 
with  their  blood  that  the  train  of  powder  laid  to  explode  the  magazine 
could  not  burn.  In  every  such  case  the  example  comes  out  against  odds, 
and  by  faith  that  rose  superior  to  the  present.  They  died  as  they  lived, 
and  fought  for  a  cause  the  achievement  of  which  they  were  not  to  realize. 
They  made  it  manifest,  indeed,  even  in  the  British  Parliament,  that  "  they 
were  seeking  a  country  of  their  own,"  who  said  and  did  such  things  ;  yet 
Miese  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises,  but  having  seen 
them  and  greeted  them  from  afar.  God  having  provided  some  better 
thing  concerning  us,  that  apart  from  us  they  should  not  be  made  perfect. 

There  are  many  lessons  of  heroic,  patriotic,  and  religious  character  to 
be  drawn  from  the  instances  of  heroism  in  the  galaxy  of  American  glory 
which  you  are  about  to  celebrate,  and  not  least  in  importance  of  them  is 
ihe  bond  of  union  to  be  found  here  between  the  two  portions  of  one  coun 
try  that  for  so  long  have  been  practically  disunited.  Here  Connecticut 
suffered  that  Virginia  might  rejoice.  The  heroes  of  Groton  Heights 


Appendix.  297 

were  incidental  and  necessary  to  the  glories  of  Yorktown.  The  best 
blood  of  New  England,  "  the  very  flower  of  this  town,  both  in  officers  and 
respectable  inhabitants"  (as  a  newly  discovered  letter  of  the  time  de 
scribes  the  fact),  was  here  made  a  vicarious  sacrifice,  that  the  happy 
homes  of  Virginia  and  the  South  might  at  last  be  delivered  from  invasion 
that  had  so  long  molested  them.  "  It  was  determined  by  me  nearly 
twelve  months  beforehand  (says  Washington,  in  a  letter  not  yet  pub 
lished),  at  all  hazards,  to  give  out  and  cause  it  to  be  believed  by  the  high 
est  military  as  well  as  civil  officers,  that  New  York  was  the  destined  place 
of  attack,  for  the  important  purpose  of  inducing  the  Eastern  and  Mid 
dle  States  to  make  greater  exertions  in  furnishing  specific  supplies  than 
they  otherwise  would  have  done,  as  well  as  for  the  interesting  purpose  of 
rendering  the  enemy  less  prepared  elsewhere."  Thus,  when  New  Eng 
land  was  depleted  of  its  last  obtainable  supplies  and  troops,  the  British 
commander  at  New  York,  discovering  the  real  movement  of  Washington 
upon  Yorktown,  and  impelled  to  make  a  diversion,  sent  Benedict  Arnold 
upon  his  willing  errand,  to  violate  his  native  soil,  and  the  victory  in  Vir 
ginia  involved  the  defeat  in  Connecticut.  How  truly  and  how  willingly 
these  colonies  then  were  one  in  suffering,  each  for  the  other.  How  im 
possible  that  they  should  not  thus  suffer  in  turn,  each  in  the  other's  place. 
Already  the  land  was  one  by  nature  ;  the  people  upon  it  stood  or  fell  to 
gether.  Let  us  rejoice,  as  the  attempt  at  division  becomes  an  acknowl 
edged  failure,  at  each  reminiscence  that  shall  serve  to  soften  and 
strengthen  the  bond  which  now  unites  these  States  forever.  The  hero 
ism  yonder  was  heroism  in  failure,  and  therefore  shines  brightly  as  hero 
ism  of  faith  ;  but  already  we  see  what  help  to  others  that  faithfulness  unto 
failure  wrought.  The  most  divine  attainment  of  our  human  nature  is 
reached  when  men  become  willing  to  fail,  although  they  are  faithful,  and 
would  rather  be  faithful  in  failure  than  excuse  themselves  from  failure  by 
the  least  suspicion  of  unfaithfulness.  The  example  they  then  leave  be 
comes  both  glorious  and  saving;  such  was  the  example  of  him  who,  as  he 
left  this  bank  of  the  river  for  his  station  and  his  death,  gave  this  testimony 
as  he  said  Good-by  :  "If  I  have  this  day  to  lose  either  life  or  honor,  you 
who  know  me  best  know  which  it  will  be."  And  such  this  testimony  of 
the  little  garrison  so  vastly  outnumbered,  "  We  will  not  give  up  the  fort, 
let  the  consequences  be  what  they  may  !  " 

One  other  thing  is  true  as  a  result  of  this  faithfulness  unto  failure 
and  death.  The  comparatively  formidable  expedition,  doubtless,  was 
intended  to  effect  a  lodgment  here,  at  what  might  become  an  excellent 
base  of  operations  toward  the  interior  of  Connecticut,  the  "  war  office  " 
at  Lebanon,  and  the  fertile  and  yet  unmolested  valleys  of  Massachu 
setts.  The  General  who  led  the  force  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
country,  —  it  was  his  boyhood's  home.  Norwich  was  his  birthplace, 
Lebanon  a  familiar  haunt;  all  the  people  were  old  neighbors  of  his. 
Who  so  competent  to  lead  an  invasion,  if  only  he  had  the  meanness  of 


298  Battle  of  Groton  Heiglits. 

soul  to  do  it ;  and  this  man  had  proved  himself  capable  even  of  that ! 
The  1 20  men  who  failed  to  hold  Fort  Griswold,  and  those  who  died  at 
their  post,  by  the  completeness  of  their  failure  put  failure  also  upon  what 
ever  plan  of  lodgment  the  1, 600  British  had  who  came  against  them. 
Benedict  Arnold  knew  Jonathan  Trumbull,  and  dreaded  his  vengeance, 
although  his  forces  were  weak  and  ill-trained.  Ledyard  had  reminded 
him  what  sort  of  men  he  had  to  deal  with.  Yet  Ledyard  and  his  garrison 
only  knew  that  they  had  failed  ! 

But  the  lesson  most  likely  to  move  us,  after  all,  lies  in  the  pathos  and 
exquisiteness  of  their  heroism.  They  were  almost  all  young  men.  Of 
fifty- two  of  their  gravestones  bearing  dates,  thirty-six  of  the  dead  were 
under  forty,  and  only  sixteen  over  forty  years  old.  There  was  indeed 
one  patriarch  of  seventy-five,  who  met  his  death,  but  not  far  off  from  him 
there  fell  boys  of  fifteen  and  seventeen  and  nineteen  and  twenty  years 
only.  Most  of  the  fifty-two  under  forty  years  were  less  than  thirty  years 
old.  This  youthfulness  of  the  garrison  was  the  consequence,  indeed, 
of  six  years  of  war ;  but  that  does  not  make  it  any  less  pathetic.  They 
knew,  as  they  went  up  the  steep  hill  and  shut  their  gate  behind  them, 
that  they  were  a  forlorn  hope  ;  that  there  should  not  be  many  left  of 
a  fighting  age  after  they  had  fallen.  We  forget  that  Ledyard  was  but 
forty-three.  We  forget  that  a  son  was  born  to  him  on  the  27th  of 
August,  1781,  and  that  he  left  his  sick  wife,  witli  her  child  only  ten 
days  old,  as  he  went  to  lose  not  honor  but  life.  We  forget  that  as  he 
watched  the  column  of  assault  coming  over  Packer's  Rocks  and  forming 
in  the  Burying  Ground,  and  pausing  there  before  the  final  rush,  he  knew 
they  were  trampling,  he  saw  them  trampling  down  the  new  grave  of  his 
sweet  daughter,  just  seventeen  years  old,  whose  body  he  had  buried  there 
on  July  25111,  just  six  weeks  before  that  very  6th  of  September.  Oh, 
when  we  think  of  these  things,  and  how  these  men  were  not  strangers  to 
each  other,  as  soldiers  generally  are,  but  fathers  and  sons,  and  brothers 
and  cousins,  how  the  appreciation  of  their  valor  and  their  sacrifices  rises  ! 
Nor  was  heroism  confined  within  the  fort.  No  sweeter,  sadder  story  can 
be  found  in  literature  than  that  of  Buddington  and  his  wife  and  child, 
who,  in  their  home  above  the  fort,  ate  breakfast1  in  silence  and  in  haste, 
and  after  breakfast  he  took  down  the  old  musket  from  the  deer-horn  perch 
above  the  mantel,  and  started  for  the  fort.  And  all  that  dreadful  day  his 
wife  and  daughter  sat  upon  the  rocks  and  watched  the  battle  and  the 
conflagration,  and  never  knew  for  a  certainty  whether  husband  and  father 
was  dead  or  alive,  until  months  afterwards  the  sickly  and  starved  survivor 
of  a  prison  ship  staggered  across  the  familiar  threshold,  and  was  at  home 
again.  Ah,  it  is  not  in  ancient  times  alone,  or  altogether,  that  by  faith 
"women  received  their  dead  by  a  resurrection."  We  forget  that  these 
men  whom  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  as  Revolutionary  soldiers  were 
not  regulars,  bred  to  war  and  heroism,  who,  scarcely  more  than  100  strong, 
met  and  repelled,  but  at  last  succumbed  to,  six  times  their  number  of 


Appendix-  299 

regular  and  veteran  troops.  But  that  recollection,  too,  heightens  their 
heroism.  It  is  not  often  in  war  that  the  bayonet  is  used  ;  men  do  not 
like  cold  steel.  But  in  Fort  Griswold  there  was  scarcely  a  wounded  man 
without  a  bayonet  stab;  and  not  a  few  of  them  fell,  like  William  Sey 
mour,  with  his  leg  shot  through  and  with  his  thirteen  bayonet  wounds. 

Yet  they  were  only  ordinary  men,  accustomed  to  do  their  daily  business 
in  these  streets.  Doubtless  there  were  unworthy  men  among  them; 
men  whose  characters  would  be  a  blemish  upon  any  cause  ;  men  of  pro 
fanity  and  lewdness.  There  are  always  such  in  every  garrison,  in  every 
town.  But  the  men  who  gave  that  garrison  its  character,  and  who  toned 
it  up  to  the  heroic  pitch,  were  worthy  men.  They  were  men  who  feared 
God  and  honored  Him  at  their  firesides,  and  in  his  church,  and  in  their 
daily  lives.  They  were  ordinary  men,  but  good  men.  It  was  mere  acci 
dent,  an  uncontrollable  circumstance,  that  brought  them  to  the  surface 
and  made  manifest  their  devotion.  Doubtless  the  same  capacity  for 
heroism  now  exists  in  the  fanners  of  Groton  as  they  are  to-day.  I  doubt 
not  that  capacity  for  heroism  exists  among  you.  And  the  lesson  of  the 
pathetic  and  exquisite  heroism  of  Groton  Heights  is,  that  we  so  bear 
ourselves  in  these  "  piping  times  of  peace,"  that  when  the  hour  comes 
for  sacrifice,  if  it  shall  come,  the  men  may  be  ready  for  the  hour  ! 
Nay  !  the  hour  does  come  daily.  As  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  draws, 
from  all  history,  examples  of  heroism  as  stimulant  for  Christian  living 
in  quiet  or  in  boisterous  times,  so  I  draw  stimulant  to  your  fidelity  in 
righteousness  from  these  glory-crowned  Americans.  "  Let  us  also,  see 
ing  we  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  lay  aside 
every  weight  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run 
with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us."  Thus,  by  our  faithfulness 
in  that  which  is  least  and  without  fame,  we  shall  become  faithful  in  much 
also,  and  enter  into  the  joy  of  our  Lord. 

It  is  fit  that  I  should  speak  thus  at  such  a  time,  and  at  this  table  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  I  have  offered  you  an  illustration  of  vicarious  sacri 
fice,  —  Connecticut  suffering,  dying,  with  exquisite  heroism,  for  Virginia. 
But  of  how  much  holier  sacrifice  for  others  do  this  bread  and  this  cup 
speak. 

Do  not  forget  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  a  gospel  for  those  who  have 
failed,  who  feel  themselves  making  failure.  He  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous  but  sinners  to  repentance.  The  whole  need  not  a  physician 
but  those  that  are  sick.  And  as  we  are  touched  by  the  memory  of  the 
faithful  failure,  and  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  men  one  hundred  years  ago, 
let  us  not  become  dulled  to  the  power  of  that  greater  failure  and  greater 
sacrifice  of  the  divine  Victim,  which  by  God's  infinite  and  constant  mercy 
is  so  much  more  familiar  to  our  minds. 


N 


X 

X 


x; 


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X 
X 


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^ 

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X 


x: 


X 


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\ 


GROTON  HEIGHTS 

Centennial. 

A  REPORT  OF  THE  MEMORIAL  SERVICES, 

September  6  and  7, 


IN  NEW  LONDON  AND  ON  GROTON  HEIGHTS,  IN  HONOR 
OF  THEIR  BRAVE  DEFENDERS. 


ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 


ATTACK  ON  AND  DESTRUCTION  OF  NEW  LONDON,  THE 

BATTLE  OF  GROTON  HEIGHTS,  AND  THE  MASSACRE 

IN  FORT  GRISWOLD,  SEPTEMBER  6,  1781. 


EDITED   BY 

CHARLES    ALLYN. 


NEW  LONDON,  CONN.: 

CHARLES  ALLYN. 
1881. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  COMMITTEE. 

ITS   ORIGIN   AND   WORK. 


"  I  "HE  success  of  the  services  commemorative  of  the  Cen- 
J-  tennial  of  the  Burning  of  New  London  and  Groton,  the 
Battle  of  Groton  Heights,  and  the  Massacre  in  Fort  Gris- 
wold,  is  due  to  the  prolonged  and  united  efforts  of  the  gen 
tlemen  and  ladies  composing  the  "  Groton  Heights  Centen 
nial  Committee  "  putting  their  hearts  into  the  work  ;  laboring 
with  a  zeal  and  patience  worthy  of  emulation,  they  over 
came  all  difficulties,  and,  despite  the  predictions  of  croakers, 
reached  a  triumphant  and  impressive  conclusion. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1879,  the  Groton  Monument 
Association,  at  its  annual  meeting,  appointed  a  committee, 
Messrs.  C.  L.  Avery,  R.  A.  Gray,  and  Frederic  Bill,  to  coop 
erate  with  any  other  committees  and  make  arrangements  for 
the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Groton 
Heights.  On  the  same  day,  at  a  grand  mass,  meeting  held  in 
the  old  fort  in  honor  of  the  occasion,  which  was  opened  with 
prayer  by  the  venerable  Jared  R.  Avery,  and  furnished  with 
music  by  the  local  choirs,  an  oration  was  delivered  by  Rev. 
L.  W.  Bacon,  of  Norwich  ;  an  historical  sketch  read  by  John 
J.  Copp.  of  Groton  ;  and  a  short  address  made  by  Capt.  J.  K. 
Bucklyn,  of  Mystic  Bridge.  Such  enthusiasm  was  awakened 
that  there  was  appointed,  without  dissent,  a  Centennial  Com 
mittee  of  four,  to  ask  the  cooperation  of  the  mayor  and  citi 
zens  of  New  London  and  the  authorities  of  Ledyard  in  their 
preparations  for  the  observance  of  the  One  Hundredth  Anni 
versary  of  that  day,  September  6,  1881. 

Messrs.  John  J.  Copp,  Daniel  C.  Rodman,  John  B.  Getchell, 
and  Braddock  M.  Chester,  were  by  vote  made  the  committee, 


304  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

and  given  power  to  add  to  their  number,  which  privilege  of 
enlisting  others  similarly  interested  they  availed  themselves 
of  on  October  28th,  when,  at  a  joint  meeting  with  the  com 
mittee  of  the  Monument  Association,  Messrs.  J.  Geo.  Harris, 
E.  D.  Avery,  E.  A.  Hewitt,  and  R.  A.  Morgan,  were  added. 

Again,  on  November  6th,  Messrs.  W.  H.  Potter,  Elihu  Spi- 
cer,  Gurdon  Gates,  David  A.  Daboll,  N.  S.  Fish,  Albert  L. 
Avery,  W.  H.  Miner,  and  N.  T.  Allen,  were  called  to  assist 
in  the  work,  at  which  time  they  invited  New  London  and 
Leclyard  to  cooperate  ;  T.  M.  Waller,  Mayor  of  New  London, 
having  appointed  Messrs.  Benjamin  Stark,  Charles  D.  Boss, 
Jr.,  William  H.  Tubbs,  S.  A.  Gardner,  Jr.,  George  F.  Tinker, 
Charles  Allyn,  and  E.  V.  Daboll,  to  represent  New  London, 
and  the  Selectmen  of  Ledyard  naming  Christopher  A.  Brown, 
John  Brewster,  Edmund  Spicer,  Sanford  B.  Stoddard,  Eras 
mus  Avery,  and  James  A.  Billings,  as  members  from  that 
town.  A  joint  meeting  of  all  the  local  committees  was  held 
in  Groton,  November  12,  1879,  at  which  the  name  was  chosen 
and  a  permanent  general  organization  effected  by  the  unan 
imous  choice  of  J.  George  Harris  for  President  ;  John  J. 
Copp,  Secretary  ;  Hon.  Benjamin  Stark,  of  New  London  ; 
Judge  William  H.  Potter,  of  Groton  ;  and  Judge  John  Brews 
ter,  of  Ledyard,  Vice-Presidents  ;  and  Christopher  L.  Avery, 
Treasurer.  At  this  meeting  the  aid  of  the  State  was  asked, 
which  was  granted  in  the  appropriation  of  $3,000,  and  the 
making  arrangements  for  the  presence  of  the  entire  force  of 
Connecticut  militia. 

Meetings  of  the  committee  were  held  from  time  to  time, 
at  which  new  members  were  added.  As  the  work  grew  and 
the  interest  extended,  sub-committees  were  appointed  and 
given  charge  of  different  parts  of  the  work. 

Under  their  auspices  the  services  on  the  ninety-ninth 
anniversary  were  conducted,  at  which  were  collected  the 
largest  number  of  people  present  for  many  years. 

Hon.  Lafayette  S.  Foster,1  the  orator  of  the  day,  delivered 

1  Mr.  Foster  was  born  in  this  county,  he  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Foster. 
a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  army  ;  he  had  been  much  in  public  life, 
twice  mayor  of  Norwich,  ten  years  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  As- 


Centennial.  305 

a  masterly  oration,  which  was  his  last  public  effort.  In  a  few 
days  he  was  prostrated  by  an  illness,  terminating  fatally  on 
September  igth. 

Judge  William  H.  Potter  read  an  original  poem,  and  short 
speeches  were  made  by  Chief  Justice  M.  R.  Wait,  Hon.  John 
T.  Wait,  Rev.  L.  W.  Bacon,  and  others,  all  tending  to  arouse 
enthusiasm  for  the  approaching  Centennial. 

At  the  meeting  held  March  8,  1880,  the  aid  of  the  ladies 
of  New  London,  Groton,  Ledyard,  and  Stonington,  was  asked, 
and  with  what  heartiness  it  was  granted  and  how  much  it 
assisted  in  the  perfection  of  the  observances,  the  Loan  Exhib 
ition  amply  testifies. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  was*  memorialized, 
which  recognized  the  efforts  of  the  Centennial  Committee 
and  the  occasion  by  the  appropriation  of  $5,000,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  repairs  on  the  Groton  Heights  Monument,  and  a  like 
amount  for  the  celebrating  the  6th  of  September  in  a  manner 
befitting  the  garrison's  heroic  devotion  to  duty,  and  the  pres 
ent  peace,  prosperity,  and  greatness  of  the  Commonwealth. 

None  of  these  things  were  accomplished  without  effort, 
and  while  no  member  of  the  committee  failed  to  give  aid  in 
any  way  possible,  all  have  not  been  called  on  for  equally  hard 
work,  the  most  of  the  labor  falling  on  the  officers  and  chair 
men  of  the  various  committees.  Thus  the  monument  was  re 
paired  and  improved,  the  comfort  and  safety  of  the  expected 
guests  was  provided  for,  the  military  and  naval  spectacle,  the 
fireworks,  the  oration  and  poem,  the  music,  and  last,  but  not 
least  of  the  instructive  features,  the  Ladies'  Loan  Exhibition, 
were  all  arranged  for,  and  all  required  an  amount  of  care  and 
thought  which  could  not  be  bong/it  without  a  fortune.  Yet 
all  was  given  gladly  by  these  public-spirited  members,  who 
still  felt  a  thrill  at  the  thought  of  the  patriotism  of  family 
ancestors. 


y,  twelve  years  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  and  acting 
Vice-President  during  Andrew  Johnson's  Presidency,  afterward  judge  of 
Connecticut  Supreme  Court  for  six  years.  He  was  President  of  the  New 
London  County  Historical  Society  from  its  incorporation  till  his  death. 


306  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Spite  of  differences  of  opinion,  harmony  has  prevailed,  and 
they  have  succeeded.  The  event  has  fully  justified  the  hopes 
of  the  most  enthusiastic,  and  it  is  a  memory  fraught  lesson 
whose  influence  can  only  be  one  of  good.  It  must  lead  to  a 
more  thorough  appreciation  of  our  historic  events,  and  stimu 
late  the  feeling  of  patriotism  that  will  prepare  the  youth  who 
have  participated  in  it  to  emulate,  should  occasion  require, 
the  sacrifice  that  has  been  so  nobly  commemorated. 

The  list  of  the  committee  with  its  divisions,  as  it  stood  at 
the  completion  of  its  labors,  follows,  and  is  a  worthy  close 
of  this  record,  and  proper  introduction  to  the  report  of  the 
events  of  September  6,  1881,  in  New  London  and  Groton. 


OFFICERS  AND   MEMBERS. 

OF   THE 

GROTON    HEIGHTS     CENTENNIAL    COMMITTEE. 


PRESIDENT. 

J.  GEORGE  HARRIS,  Groton. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

BENJAMIN  STARK,  New  London.       ELISHA  H.  PALMER,  Montville. 
WILLIAM  H.  BARNS,  New  London.     WILLIAM  H.  HAYWARD,  Colchester. 
JEREMIAH  HALSEY,  Norwich.  CHARLES  P.  WHITE,  N.  Stonington. 

JEDEDIAH  HUNTINGTON,  Norwich.    JAMES  M.  PECKHAM,  Lebanon. 
WILLIAM  H.  POTTER,  Groton.  CHESTER  W.  PRENTIS,  Preston. 

JOHN  BREWSTER,  Ledyard.  NEHEMIAH  C.  COOK,  Bozrah. 

RICHARD  A.  WHEELER,  Stonington.   ROBERT  A.  GRAY,  Groton. 
THOMAS  L.  SHIPMAN,  Griswold.        WILLIAM  WHALEY,  East  Lyme. 
ENOCH  F.  BURR,  Lyme.  JEREMIAH  K.  ANDREWS,  Lisbon. 

DANIEL  CHADWICK,  Old  Lyme.         CHARLES  T.  WILLIAMS,  Salem. 
ASHBEL  WOODWARD,  Franklin.         N.  R.  GARDNER,  Sprague. 
D.  H.  NEVINS,  Waterford. 

SECRETARY. 

JOHN  J.  COPP,  Groton. 

TREASURER. 

CHRISTOPHER  L.  A  VERY,  Groton. 


;o8 


Battle  of  Grolon  Heights. 


MEMBERS. 


NEW  LONDON. 


Charles  Allyn, 
Edward  W.  Bacon, 
J.  W.  Barlow, 
Charles  Barns, 

B.  F.  Beckwith, 
Nathan  Belcher, 
William  Belcher, 
William  P.  Benjamin, 
George  W.  Bentley, 
Henry  R.  Bond, 
Charles  D.  Boss,  Jr., 
Augustus  Brandegee, 
R.  W.  Browne, 

A.  T.  Burgess, 
D'A.  Caulkins, 
Alfred  H.  Chappell, 

F.  H.  Chappell, 
Leverett  D   Clark, 
Robert  Coit, 
Thomas  S.  Collier, 
W.  H.  H.  Comstock, 
Joseph  B.  Congdon, 

C.  H.  Cornell, 
H.  L.  Crandall, 
Elisha  V.  Daboll, 
H.  B.  Downer, 
Charles  S.  Elliott, 
Walter  Fitzmaurice, 
Stephen  A.  Gardner,  Jr., 

G.  W.  Goddard, 
FVH.  Harris, 

J.  N.  Harris, 

D.  B.  Hempsted, 
W.  A.  Holt, 
William  E.  Hopkins, 
C.  B.  Jennings, 
Edwin  Keeney, 
John  T.  Lanman, 

S.  D.  Lawrence, 


Walter  Learned, 
Daniel  Lee, 
A.  C.  Lippitt, 
F.  B.  Loomis, 

D.  R.  Loosley, 
J.  P.  C.  Mather, 
John  McGinley, 
M.  R.  Moran, 

E.  F.  Morgan, 
Fred.  S.  Newcomb, 
James  Newcomb, 
Elisha  L.  Palmer, 

F.  H.  Parmelee, 
N.  Shaw  Perkins, 
W.  R.  Perry, 
Thomas  W.  Potter, 
Edward  Prentis,  Jr., 
George  Prest, 
Walter  H.  Richards, 
George  P.  Rogers, 
W.  W.  Sheffield, 

J.  T.  Shepard, 
Clark  Smith, 
N.  D.  Smith, 
Ralph  S.  Smith, 
C.  F.  Spaulding, 
William  H.  Starr, 
Benjamin  R.  Tate, 
John  A.  Tibbits, 
George  F.  Tinker, 
William  B.  Thomas, 
William  H.  Tubbs, 
Elisha  Turner, 
Thomas  M.  Waller, 
Charles  B.  Ware, 
C.  A.  Weaver, 
Ralph  Wheeler, 
George  Williams, 
Thomas  W.  Williams. 


Centennial. 


309 


GROTON. 


George  Adams, 

N.  T.  Allen, 

Charles  Allen, 

William  H.  Allen, 

Albert  L.  Avery, 

Erasmus  D.  Avery, 

James    D.    Avery,   Poquonnoc 

Bridge, 

Jared  R.  Avery, 
Latham  Avery, 
Eugene  L.  Baker, 
Lorenzo  D.  Baker, 
William  H.  Beckwith, 
Frederic  Bill, 
I.  P.  Bouse, 

Enoch  B.  Brown,  Mystic, 
Nelson  H.  Burrows, 

B.  F.  Chandler, 
S.  A.  Chapman, 
Bracldock  M.  Chester, 

C.  P.  Chipman, 
Willis  Clark, 

Horace  A.  Clift,  Mystic  River, 

E.  R.  Coe, 

Belton  A.  Copp, 

David  A.  Daboll, 

Walter  Denison, 

Charles  Fenner, 

Nathan  S.  Fish, 

W.  R.  Fish,  Mystic  River, 

James  M. 


Fred.  Gallup, 

Francis  E.  Gallup, 

L.  F.  Gardner,     ' 

Gurdon  Gates, 

John  B.  Getchell, 

L.  M.  Guernsey,  Mystic  River, 

John  S.  Heath,  Mystic  River, 

Elisha  A.  Hewitt, 

Clarence  Latham, 

G.  M.  Long, 

Charles  Merritt, 

Orrin  E.  Miner,  Noank, 

Wm.  H.  Miner, 

W.  F.  Mitchell, 

Daniel  Morgan,  Poquonnoc 

Bridge, 

Ebenezer  Morgan, 
John  S.  Morgan, 
Robert  A.  Morgan, 
Thomas  W.  Noyes,  Mystic 

River, 

Asa  Perkins,  2d. 
Daniel  C.  Rodman, 
J.  B.  Saunders, 
John  S.  Schoonover,  Mystic, 
William  A.  Smith, 
Elihu  Spicer,  Mystic  River, 
Frederick  Stein, 
Elisha  S.  Thomas,  Poquonnoc 

Bridge. 
Turner. 


NORWICH. 


William  A.  Aiken, 
Willis  R.  Austin, 
Asa  Backus, 
Leonard  W.  Bacon, 
John  P.  Bars  tow, 
E.  G.  Bidwell,  ' 
Henry  Bill, 
Lorenzo  Blackstone, 
Lucius  Brown, 


Robert  Brown, 
Increase  W.  Carpenter, 
J.  B.  Carrier, 
Edward  Chappell, 
Charles  A.  Converse, 
Zadock  C.  Crowell, 
John  L.  Denison, 
Charles  E.  Dyer, 
William  G.  Ely. 


3io 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


Edward  N.  Gibbs, 
Augustus  Gould, 
Lyman  W.  Gould, 
James  Lloyd  Green, 
Edward  Harland, 
Robert  M.  Haven, 
William  S.  Hempstead, 
A.  P.  Hitchcock, 
S.  T.  Holbrook, 
Charles  H.  Kenyon, 
Bela  P.  Learned, 
Ebenezer  Learned, 
Henry  13.  Norton, 
H.  H.  Osgood, 
William  C.  Osgood, 

W. 


Charles  T.  Palmer, 
Henry  L.  Parker, 
George  L.  Perkins, 
A.  W.  Prentice, 
John  A.  Ralhbun, 
Charles  L.  Richards, 
George  C.  Ripley, 
John  F.  Salter, 
N.  D.  Sevin, 
Joseph  Selden, 
E.  P.  Slocum, 
A.  P.  Sturtevant, 
John  T.  Wait, 
David  A.  Wells, 
S.  A.  Whitney, 
M.  Williams. 


STONINGTON. 


Alex.  H.  Allen,  Mystic, 
Jerome  S.  Anderson, 
Nathan  Babcock,  Westerly, 
Peleg  S.  Barber,  Westerly, 
J.  K.  Bucklyn,  Mystic  Bridge, 
William  Clift, 

Calvert  B.  Cottrell,  Westerly, 
Edward    C.  Denison,    Mystic 

Bridge, 

Isaac  W.  Denison, 
George  Henry  Greenman, 
Joseph  N.  Hancox, 
A.  S.  Matthews, 
Elisha  A.  Morgan,  Mystic, 

Ephraim 


Alex.  S.  Palmer, 
H.  M.  Palmer, 
Noyes  S.  Palmer, 
Thomas  W.  Palmer, 
William  L.  Palmer, 
Charles  Perrin,  Westerly, 
E.  H.  Potter, 
Benjamin  F.  Stanton, 
George  D.  Stanton, 
N.  P.  Stanton, 
Stiles  T.  Stanton, 
J.  W.  Thayer, 

Stephen  H.  Wheeler,  Mystic, 
Benjamin  F.  Williams, 
Williams. 


BOZRAH. 


William  F.  Bailey, 
William  H.  Fitch,  Yantic. 


Charles  A.  Gager, 
George  O.  Stead, 


Albert  Waterman. 

LISBON. 
Henry  Lyon,  Greeneville,  J.  B.  Palmer,  Jewett  City. 

FRANKLIN. 

Solomon  A.  Frink,  H.  L.  M.  Ladd, 

Henry  W.  Kingsley,  Gilbert  Lamb. 


Centennial.  3 1 1 


LEBANON. 

N.  C.  Barker,  Walter  G.  Kingsley, 

Joseph  C.  Crandall,  Nathan  B.  Williams. 

PRESTON. 

Nathan  H.  Ayer,  Norwich,  C.  W.  Curtis, 

Charles  W.  Carter,  Norwich,  Aaron  Lucus,  Poquetannock, 

N.  S.  Wentworth. 

LEDYARD. 

David  S.  Adams,  Norwich,  William  T.  Cook, 

Erasmus  Avery,  Preston  City,  S.  Ashbell  Crandall,  Norwich, 

James  A.  Billings,  Nehemiah  M.  Gallup,  Mystic, 

Christopher  A.  Brown,  Gales  Ferry,    Edmund  Spicer, 
Sanford  B.  Stoddard,  Norwich. 

SPRAGUE. 

M.  K.  Brewer,  Baltic,  J.  F.  Starkweather,  Baltic, 

Isaac  N.  Brown,  Charles  D.  Weaver. 

LYME. 

James  A.  Bill,  Elihu  Geer, 

Henry  Comstock,  James  L.  Raymond, 

J.  Griffin  Ely,  Henry  B.  Sisson,  Hamburgh. 

OLD  LYME. 

George  W.  DeWolf,  James  Griswold, 

W.  N.  Ely,  Charles  R.  Noyes, 

Thomas  S.  Swan. 

WATERFORD. 

John  T.  Allyn,  New  London,  J.  W.  Manwaring, 

N.  A.  Chapman,  New  London,  J.  A.  Morgan, 

E.  Starr  Chester,  New  London,         D.  H.  Nevins. 

EAST  LYME. 

Charles  Babcock,  W.  T.  Cutter, 

Daniel  Caulkins,  Edward  Luce, 

Moses  W.  Comstock,  Fred.  B.  Way. 

SALEM. 

F.  E.  Chadwick,  Samuel  N.  Morgan, 
John  C.  Daniels,                                   Joseph  Smith, 

E.  DeWolf,  Thomas  Strickland, 

A.  O.  Gallup,  Charles  Tiffany, 

Alva  Morgan,  N.  N.  Williams. 


3 1 2  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

COLCHESTER. 

Joseph  N.  Adams,  H.  P.  Buel, 

H.  P.  Beers,  W.  B.  Otis, 

Charles  H.  Rogers. 

NORTH  STONINGTON. 

Thomas  Clark,  Dudley  R.  Wheeler, 

William  H.  Hillard,  Thomas  W.  Wheeler. 

VOLUNTOWN. 

Ezra  Briggs,  Timothy  Parker, 

fames  M.  Cook,  C.  P.  Potter, 

George  W.  Rouse. 

MONTVILLE. 

James  Allyn,  William  G.  Johnson, 

R.  G.  Hooper,  R.  N.  Parish, 

Charles  S.  Johnson,  C.  M.  Robertson. 

GRISWOLD. 

Ira  D.  Briggs,  J.  E.  Leonard, 

B.  H.  Browning,  H.  L.  Reade,  Jewett  City, 

A.  B.  Burlinson,  Jewett  City,  James  O.  Sweet,  Jewett  City. 

CLINTON. 
B.  G.  Northrop. 

LITCHFIELD. 
Origen  S.  Seymour.* 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 
Latham  A.  Fish. 


LADIES'    COMMITTEE. 

GROTON. 

Miss  Elizabeth  M.  Avery,  1  Mrs.  Wilson  Allyn, 

Mrs.  Ida  S.  Campbell,         I  £>«*#»  Mrs.  Albert  L.  Avery, 

Mrs.  Mary  J.  Ramsdell,      |  Commute,.  Mrs.  Christopher  L.  Avery, 

Mrs.  Clara  B.  Whitman,     J  Mrs.  Luther  D.  Avery,  Poquonnoc 
Mrs.  Henry  Allen,  Bridge. 

Mrs.  Charles  Allen,  Mrs.  Lorenzo  D.  Baker, 

*  Died  since  organization. 


Centennial. 


Mrs.  Frederic  Bill, 

Mrs.  Theophilus  Brown, 

Mrs.  E.  Frank  Coates,  Mystic  River, 

Mrs.  John  J.  Copp, 

Mrs.  Georgia   C.  Cottrell,   Mystic 

Bridge, 

Miss  Catherine  B.  Copp, 
Miss  Sarah  Denison,  Mystic  River, 
Mrs.  A.  T.  Douglass, 
Mrs.  Mary  P.  Eakin, 
Mrs.  Frederic  Gallup, 
Mrs.  Leander  F.  Gardner, 
Mrs.  Robert  A.  Gray, 
Mrs.  Elisha  A.  Hewitt, 
Mrs.  Jane  Hewitt, 
Miss  Evelyn  Holmes,  Mystic 

Bridge, 

Mrs.  Francis  Latham, 
Mrs.  Van  S.  Lindsley, 
Mrs.  Samuel  Maples, 


Mrs.  Susan  Meech, 

Mrs.  William  H.  Miner, 

Mrs.  Daniel   Morgan,   Poquonnoc 

Bridge, 

Mrs.  Ebenezer  Morgan, 
Mrs.  James  Morgan, 
Mrs.  Robert  A.  Morgan, 
Miss    Sarah    Morgan,   Poquonnoc 

Bridge, 

Mrs.  B.  M.  O'Brien, 
Mrs.  Henry  O.  Perkins, 
Mrs.  Daniel  C.  Rodman, 
Mrs.    Abel    H.  Simmons,    Mystic 

River, 

Mrs.  John  O.  Spicer, 
Mrs.  William  A.  Smith, 
Mrs.  Elisha  Thomas,  Poquonnoc 

Bridge, 

Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Wightman,  Poquon 
noc  Bridge. 


Miss  Georgia  F.  Bentley, 
Mrs.  Henry  R.  Bond, 
Mrs.  Augustus  Brandegee,* 
Mrs.  Hannah  S.  Chappell, 


Mrs.  Henry  Bill, 
Mrs.  Gardner  Greene, 
Mrs.  James  L.  Greene, 
Miss  Sarah  A.  Huntington, 
Mrs.  Theodore  Raymond, 


NEW  LONDON. 

Miss  Harriet  T.  Deshon, 
Mrs.  Mary  S.  Dickinson, 
Miss  Adelaide  Lockwood, 
Miss  Eloise  H.  Thatcher. 

NORWICH. 

Mrs.  Charles  L.  Richards, 
Miss  Hannah  L.  Ripley, 
Miss  Mary  E.  Wait, 
Mrs.  E.  Winslow  Williams, 
Mrs.  David  Young. 


STONINGTON. 

Mrs.   George   W.    Noyes,    Mystic        Mrs.  Charles  H.  Rhodes, Westerly, 
Bridge,  Miss  Maria  Stanton,* 

Miss  Emily  A.  Wheeler. 


Mrs.  Maria  Cook, 


LEDYARD. 

Mrs.  George  Fanning, 
Mrs.  Anna  Gallup. 


•  Died  since  organization. 


3H 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


Richard  A.  Wheeler, 
13.  G.  Northrop, 
John  J.  Copp. 
L.  W.  Bacon, 


Frederic  Bill, 
John  Erewster, 

William  H.  Tubbs, 
R.  A.  Gray, 


John  T.  Wait, 
J.  George  Harris, 


George  W.  Bentley, 
Robert  A.  Gray, 
A.  S.  Mathews, 


J.  George  Harris, 
H.  H.  Osgood, 


Benjamin  Stark, 
Christopher  A.  Brown, 
N.  T.  Allen, 
Richard  A.  Wheeler, 


Alfred  H.  Chappell, 
Stephen  H.  Wheeler, 


Albert.  L.  Avery, 
R.  A.  Morgan, 
Braddock  M.  Chester, 


COMMITTEES. 

Historical. 
John  Brewster, 
Wm.  H.  Potter, 

William  Clift, 
James  Allyn, 

Finance. 

George  F.  Tinker, 
E.  V.  Daboll, 

Military. 

Daniel  C.  Rodman, 
E.  V.  Daboll, 

Naval. 

Latham  A.  Fish, 
Alex.  S.  Palmer, 
Wm.  E.  Hopkins. 

Transportation. 
Stephen  A.  Gardner,  Jr., 
John  B.  Getchell, 
C.  F.  Spaulding, 

Invitations. 
James  A.  Billings, 
Charles  Perrin, 

Reception. 

Robert  Coit, 
Thomas  M.  Waller, 
Augustus  Branclegee, 
Charles  Barns, 

Music  and  Schools. 

N.  T.  Allen, 
J.  B.  Saunders, 

Entertainment. 
Erasmus  Avery, 
Benjamin  F.  Williams, 
Benjamin  R.  Tate, 
Georjie  M.  Long. 


Wm.  T.  Cook, 
H.  L.  Reade, 
Ashbel  Woodward, 
Charles  Allyn. 


E.  D.  Avery. 


Wm.  B.  Thomas. 


John  J.  Copp, 
Gurdon  Gates, 


Eliliu  Spicer, 
M.  R.  Moran. 


Benjamin  Stark. 


Benjamin  R.  Tate, 
A.  H.  Chappell, 
Frederic  Bill, 
H.  H.  Osgood. 


Charles  S.  Elliott, 
C.  B.  Jennings. 


Sanford  B.  Stoddard 
Ebenezer  Morgan, 
George  Williams, 


Centennial.  315 

Decorations,   Tents,  Seats,  etc. 

Elisha  A.  Hewitt,  John  B.  Getchell,  Charles  E.  Dyer. 

William  H.  Miner,  N.  S.  Fish, 

Civic  Bodies. 

William  H.  Potter,  Edmund  Spicer,  Charles  B.  Ware, 

Charles  Allyn,  N.  T.  Allen,  F.  H.  Parmalee. 

Repairs  on  Fort  and  Monument. 

}.  W.  Barlow,  Nehemiah  M.  Gallup,       E.  S.  Thomas. 

David  A.  Daboll,  Nathan  S.  Fish. 

Programme. 

Daniel  C.  Rodman,1  Christopher  A.  Brown,     Benjamin  R.  Tate. 

Elisha  V.  Daboll,  N.  T.  Allen, 

Publication. 
John  J.  Copp,  Charles  Allyn. 

Illumination  and  Fireworks. 

M.  R.  Moran,  Fred.  S.  Newcomb,  Fred.  Gallup. 

Walter  Learned,  John  S.  Morgan 

Admission  of  Members. 

George  W.  Bentley,  A.  W.  Prentice,  Richard  A.  Wheeler. 

Hugh  H.  Osgood,  Christopher  L.  Avery, 

On  Rules  and  Regulations. 

J.  George  Harris,  Christopher  L.  Avery,       Nathan  S.  Fish, 

Clara  B.  Whitman,  and  the  Programme  Committee. 

On  the  Press. 

John  A.  Tibbits,  Walter  Fitzmaurice,  David  S.  Adams, 

Stiles  T.  Stanton,  Thomas  S.  Collier,  John  A.  Rathbun, 

John  G.  Crump,  A.  P.  Hitchcock,  Jerome  S.  Anderson, 

John  McGinley,  James  Hall,  L.  M.  Guernsey. 

Committee  of  New  London  County  Historical  Society. 
David  A.  Wells,  Richard  A.  Wheeler,        Edward  W.  Bacon, 

Henry  Bill,  William  Belcher,  Nathan  Belcher, 

J.  P.  C.  Mather,  William  H.  Starr.  Daniel  Lee. 

1  Excused  from  duty  at  his  own  request,  on  account  of  ill  health.    Mr.  Daboll  acted  as  chairman 


3 1 6  Battle  of  Groton.  Heigkts. 


THE   CELEBRATION,    SEPTEMBER   6. 

THE  first  day  of  the  Centennial  Celebration  was  a  grand 
success  in  every  respect.  There  was  not  a  suspicion  of  fail 
ure  in  any  feature  of  the  programme.  Everything  went 
as  smoothly  as  though  it  had  been  carefully  rehearsed  for 
months. 

The  crowds  were  simply  immense.  The  lowest  estimate 
places  the  number  in  attendance,  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
at  30,000.  Enthusiasts  say  there  were  100,000.  Regular 
and  special  trains  that  came  into  the  city  from  early  morning 
until  afternoon  were  jammed.  One  train  on  the  Shore  Line 
from  the  west  brought  thirty-five  cars,  all  crowded  almost 
to  suffocation.  The  Northern  road  was  taxed  to  its  ut 
most  capacity  :  eighty-four  of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
crowded  cars  drawn  to  New  London  in  the  morning  trains 
were  returned  loaded  before  ten  o'clock  at  night.  Not  a 
single  accident  is  reported, — a  good  record  for  the  manage 
ment  of  the  road,  one  of  whose  trains  of  eighteen  cars  had 
two  hundred  and  forty-nine  people  in  two  cars.  Other  roads 
were  equally  fortunate.  All  the  towns  in  New  London 
County  emptied  their  population  into  this  city.  Thousands 
came  by  team  and  hundreds  by  foot  from  many  miles  away. 
The  weather  was  oppressive  and  peculiar.  All  through  the 
day  the  sky  was  of  a  dull,  dead  yellow,  and  old  mariners  with 
tropical  experience  said  that  everything  portended  a  cyclone 
or  a  hurricane.  For  this  atmospheric  phenomenon  the  day 
will  pass  into  history  as  the  "  yellow  day,"  and  with  it  will  be 
associated  the  centennial  of  Arnold's  raid  on  New  London 
and  Groton. 

From  the  parade  Groton  Heights  were  scarcely  visible. 
But  neither  cyclone  nor  hurricane  came,  and  nothing  occurred 
to  prevent  the  carrying  out  of  all  the  details  of  the  programme. 
The  decorations  of  public  buildings  and  private  residences 
were  quite  general,  and  in  many  cases  elaborate  and  elegant. 

The  large  crowd  was  quite  as  orderly  as  could  have  been 


Centennial.  3 1 7 

expected  ;  but  the  police  found  plenty  of  occupation,  and  be 
fore  noon  the  station-house  was  taxed  to  the  utmost. 

The  first  movement  as  an  earnest  of  the  military  business 
of  the  day  was  the  muster  of  the  Veterans  at  Armory  Hall, 
on  Bank  Street.  These  old  soldiers,  who  had  acted  inde 
pendently  of  the  military  authorities  and  perfected  their  own 
organization,  were  promptly  on  hand  at  eight  o'clock,  armed 
and  equipped  as  the  law  directs,  and,  headed  by  the  Moodus 
Drum  Corps,  dressed  in  the  old  Continental  uniform,  and 
playing  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  started  for  the  field  of  operations 
on  Town  Hill,  accompanied  by  a  large  concourse  of  people  on 
either  side  of  the  street,  inspired  by  the  martial  strains  of  the 
drummers,  and  for  the  moment  imbued  with  the  spirit  that 
longs  for  great  deeds,  as  their  military  tread  and  bearing  gave 
evidence.  There  were  two  companies  of  veterans,  A  and  B, 
commanded  respectively  by  Captains  T.  F.  Underwood  and 
C.  H.  Smitten,  and  numbering  about  thirty  each,  all  of  whom 
had  seen  service  with  accompaniments  of  real  fire  and  lead 
in  the  late  war.  And  to  these  old  soldiers  is  due  a  full  meas 
ure  of  praise  for  aiding  in  the  success  of  the  day,  and  giv 
ing  dignity  to  part  of  the  programme  on  which  many  were 
inclined  to  look  with  ridicule.  In  fact,  the  question  of  the 
sham  battle  had  previously  given  rise  to  discussion,  and  the 
opinions  were  many  and  various  as  to  the  practicability  of 
carrying  through  to  success  a  movement  which  involved  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  tactics,  and  covered  a  long  line  of  ter 
ritory,  over  rough  fields  and  walls;  to  a  complete  realization 
of  the  intention  of  those  in  command,  and  to  the  require 
ments  of  public  sentiment,  the  strictest  fidelity  to  historical 
precedent  was  an  absolute  necessity.  To  the  credit  of  all 
concerned  be  it  said  that,  from  first  to  last,  from  the  appear 
ance  of  the  enemy  at  Fort  Nonsense,  on  Ocean  Avenue,  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  engagement  at  Post  Hill,  the  most  san 
guine  could  have  expected  nothing  more  complete,  spirited, 
and  realistic,  nor  the  most  captious  been  at  greater  loss  to 
find  a  spot  to  point  the  finger  of  criticism,  than  in  this  most 
memorable  sham  battle,  when  the  heroic  defence  of  this  old 
town  was  reenacted  in  commemoration  of  its  one  hundredth 
anniversary. 


318  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

It  required  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination,  as  the  Vet 
erans,  ununiformed  and  armed  with  muskets,  took  up  .their 
march  for  the  engagement  on  Town  Hill,  and  the  shrill  fife 
and  resonant  drum  woke  the  echoes  of  the  mind,  to  picture 
the  scene  on  the  morning  one  hundred  years  ago,  when  the 
sturdy  sons  of  that  generation  flew  to  arms  to  repel  invasion 
and  defend  their  homes  and  families ;  the  patient  trust  and 
hope  of  the  women  turned  to  terror  when  the  issue  was  de 
clared  for  the  enemy,  the  abandonment  of  home  and  property, 
the  fleeing  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  the  return  to  find 
but  ashes.  The  fruits  of  years  of  thrift,  economy,  and  toil, 
swept  away  by  the  fell  destroyer,  fire,  in  a  day,  with  nothing 
before  them  but  to  commence  over  again  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ladder. 

The  Veterans  arrived  on  the  ground  at  the  appointed  hour 
and,  after  a  short  rest  and  instructions  from  their  officers, 
were  deployed  as  skirmishers  in  the  field  on  the  east  side 
of  the  road  where  was  situated  Fort  Nonsense  in  the  olden 
time.  It  was  apparent  to  the  unmilitary  even  that  the  Vet 
erans,  in  the  parlance  of  the  clay,  had  "  been  there "  before, 
the  movements  in  the  field  being  executed  rapidly  and  with 
out  confusion  or  hesitation.  Just  previous  to  the  engage 
ment  a  long  train  of  flat  cars,  loaded  down  with  soldiers,  had 
been  seen  approaching  drawn  by  two  engines  over  the  Shore 
Line  Railroad,  and  from  these  the  Third  Regiment,  C.  N. 
G.,  representing  the  enemy,  had  unloaded,  and,  immediately 
after,  the  boom  of  cannon  and  the  rapid  discharge  of  mus 
ketry  was  heard  from  the  direction  of  Fort  Trumbull,  which 
was  the  signal  for  a  rally  for  defence  on  the  part  of  the 
handful  of  Americans  in  response  to  the  assembly  beaten  in 
the  road.  The  artillery  of  the  Americans  had  come  into  po 
sition  and  unlimbered  in  the  field  to  the  north  of  the  infan 
try  position,  and  the  indications  pointed  to  warm  work  soon 
to  follow.  The  first  appearance  the  enemy  made  was  a  skir 
mish  line  from  the  road  into  the  field,  advancing  and  firing 
rapidly,  the  Americans  falling  a  little  back  and  returning  a 
spirited  fire,  the  big  guns  taking  an  active  part  and  throw 
ing  imaginary  shot  in  a  manner  suggestive  of  shrieks  and 


Centennial.  3 1 9 

wounds.  In  the  mean  time  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  re 
inforced  by  the  companies  detached  for  the  assault  on  Fort 
Trumbull,  came  dashing  up  the  hill,  led  by  that  fierce,  un 
tamed  spirit,  Benedict  Arnold,  and  firing  volleys  in  quick  suc 
cession,  and  the  game  is  up  for  the  patriots  at  this  point,  who 
are  forced  to  retreat,  abandoning  Fort  Nonsense  and  two  field- 
pieces  to  the  attacking  party,  who  with  wild  hurrahs  possess 
themselves  of  the  spoils  and  advance  up  the  road  in  pursuit  of 
the  retreating  Americans.  The  patriot  band  had  taken  the 
road  down  Town  Hill,  up  Cape  Ann  Lane  to  Livingstone  Av 
enue,  and  up  to  Manwaring  Hill,  where  they  again  came  to 
a  stand,  and,  planting  their  two  field-pieces  in  position  to  rake 
the  hill,  deployed  the  infantry  half  way  down  the  hill  and  to 
the  right  of  the  battery.  The  enemy,  meanwhile,  had  come 
into  position  with  the  captured  guns  on  the  side  hill  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  valley,  and  opened  fire,  which  was  hotly 
returned  from  the  position  on  Manwaring  Hill.  The  British 
infantry,  at  this  juncture,  are  seen  approaching  across  the 
fields  at  double-quick,  taking  no  account  of  ditches  and  stone 
walls,  and,  under  cover  of  their  artillery  fire,  form  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  for  a  charge  up  the  hill  to  carry  the  American  po 
sition.  By  this  time  both  sides  had  warmed  to  their  work  in 
more  senses  than  one,  and  no  more  thrilling  and  blood-stirring 
scene  can  be  imagined  than  the  attack,  repulse,  and  final  de 
feat  of  the  Americans  at  this  point,  as  they  were  compelled 
to  beat  a  retreat  over  the  wall  and  into  the  road  in  hot  haste. 
The  enemy  came  rushing  up  the  hill  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
poured  over  the  wall  like  a  torrent,  making  the  welkin  ring 
with  their  shouts  of  triumph,  and  fastening  on  to  the  two 
guns  which  the  patriots  were  unable  to  save.  No  time  is 
supposed  to  be  lost,  and  the  British  are  soon  on  the  heels 
of  the  flying  Americans,  the  road  followed  being  by  the  Sec 
ond  Burying-Ground  and  along  Lewis  Street,  the  artillery 
in  the  van.  The  retreating  Americans  have  made  good  use 
of  their  time,  and  again  rallied  for  a  last  final  struggle.  Tak 
ing  up  a  position  on  Post  Hill  they  await  the  advance  of  the 
enemy,  who,  flushed  with  victory,  have  followed  their  road  in 
eager  pursuit,  and  planting  the  gun  at  the  top  of  the  hill 


320  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

await  the  arrival  of  the  supporting  infantry.  Before  they 
have  unlimbered,  the  head  of  the  attacking  column  is  vis 
ible  rounding  the  corner,  in  close  order,  at  a  double-quick, 
and  are  soon  in  position  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the  left 
of  their  artillery.  The  Americans  take  a  position  a  little  way 
down  the  hill,  deeming  it  safer  than  the  bold  relief  on  the 
top,  and  the  action  opens  with  a  brisk  and  rattling  fire  of 
musketry  from  both  sides,  the  artillery  at  the  same  time 
belching  flame,  and  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  day  is  over 
on  this  side  for  the  patriot  band.  Seeing  their  advantage  the 
enemy  close  up  and  make  a  tumultuous  charge  up  the  hill,  the 
Americans  standing  their  ground  until  nearly  close  quarters, 
when  they  reluctantly  retreat,  turning  and  firing  parting  shots 
as  they  run.  This  ends  the  battle  on  the  New  London  side 
of  the  river,  and  the  line  of  march  is  taken  up  for  the  bank  by 
both  forces,  the  British  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  Ameri 
cans  from  reinforcing  Fort  Grisvvold,  in  which  they  are  un 
successful. 

Praise  was  showered  on  the  heads  of  the  happy  and  ex 
cited  Veterans  who  contributed  so  much  to  the  unexpectedly 
grand  spectacular  warfare,  and  the  boys  in  blue,  the  gallant 
Third,  were  the  recipients  of  smiles  and  favors  from  New 
London's  fairest  daughters.  And  so  passed  the  morning  of 
the  day  that  a  hundred  years  ago  brought  wounds  and  death 
to  the  "fathers  of  the  hamlet"  and  fire  and  devastation  to 
their  homes.  Here  a  delay  occurred  which  was  rendered  less 
tedious  by  the  mid-day  national  salute  from  Fort  Trumbull 
and  the  nine  war  and  revenue  ships  in  the  harbor. 

It  was  much  after  the  appointed  time  when  the  regiments 
got  into  position  for  the  attack,  occupying  as  nearly  as  possi 
ble  the  position  of  the  assaulting  party  of  one  hundred  years 
ago.  Once  there,  the  incidents  of  the  fight  were  reproduced 
as  nearly  as  possible,  though  from  the  fog  and  smoke  the  op 
posing  forces  were  often  invisible  to  each  other,  the  parties, 
with  flags  of  truce  going  into  and  coming  out  of  the  fog 
like  ghosts. 

At  this  point  the  air  cleared  for  a  moment,  when  the  ad 
vance  to  the  assault  began.  Then  the  artillery  in  the  fort 


Centennial.  321 

opened  in  earnest,  and  the  spectators  who  had  lingered  near 
the  guns  made  haste  to  stand  aside. 

The  few  men  left  to  defend  the  redoubt  soon  came  running 
in  with  the  swabs  and  rammers,  which  was  the  signal  that  the 
British  had  captured  that  point,  but  the  action  was  invisible. 

Soon  a  line  of  fire  and  noise,  in  the  midst  of  which  shapes 
like  men  were  seen,  swept  up  toward  the  fort.  Here  was  a 
scene  to  be  remembered,  the  sheets  of  flame  from  unseen 
cannon,  with  the  roar  of  their  rapidly  repeated  explosions  ; 
the  almost  steady  flash  of  musketry  all  along  the  parapet 
as  the  volunteer  defenders  fired  with  the  rapidity  and  ear 
nestness  of  real  work,  —  some  actually  aiming,  while  others 
seemed  only  anxious  to  explode  as  many  cartridges  as  pos 
sible. 

The  advancing  column  came  on  steadily,  firing  by  file,  by 
company,  and  at  will  in  different  regiments,  halting  at  walls 
and  fences  to  straighten  the  lines  and  fire  a  volley,  then  scal 
ing  the  obstruction  and  making  a  rush  for  the  next  cover  with 
a  shout,  till  the  last  wall  was  cleared,  when,  with  a  rush  and 
yell  they  swept  over  the  open  space  down  into  the  ditch  and 
up  the  parapet,  while  the  right  wing  companies  on  a  run 
swung  around  to  the  north  of  the  work  and  went  in  through 
the  gate  firing  a  last  fusilade  as  the  parade  was  reached,  — 
recalling  to  the  ears  of  the  spectators  the  sounds  of  the  mas 
sacre  when,  one  hundred  years  ago,  "  the  enemy  mounted  the 
parapet  and  discharged  their  guns,"  and  were  afterwards  "dis 
charging  their  guns  through  the  barrack  windows." 

This  firing  soon  ceased,  and  the  hand-shaking  of  perspiring 
assailants  and  defenders  began. 

The  utmost  good  feeling  prevailed,  and  all  voted  the  sham- 
fight  a  success  as  far  as  each  one  saw.  Thus  while  no  one 
saw  it  all,  every  one  saw  some  part  of  it,  and  all  were  equally 
well  pleased  with  a  battle  as  a  spectacle. 

After  the  taking  of  Fort  Griswold  the  troops,  regular,  mil 
itia,  and  volunteers,  were  given  a  bountiful  lunch  in  a  tent 
prepared  for  the  occasion. 

While  the  sham  fight  was  in  progress  General  Sherman, 
General  Hawley,  and  other  distinguished  guests  witnessed 

21 


322  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

it  from  an  observation  stand  erected  on  the  roof  of  the  house 
at  the  Monument. 

After  it  was  over  they  proceeded  with  other  invited  guests 
to  the  guests'  tent,  where  the  tables  were  bountifully  supplied, 
and  enjoyed  a  refreshing  collation.  It  was  now  nearly  two 
o'clock,  and  thousands  had  assembled  in  the  grand  pavilion 
to  enjoy  the  exercises  appointed  to  commence  at  that  hour. 

EXERCISES    IN    THE    TENT. 

After  an  admirably  executed  overture  by  the  band  of  the 
First  United  States  Artillery,  Mr.  J.  George  Harris,  President 
of  the  Committee,  rose,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  and  ad 
dressed  the  audience  as  follows  :  — 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  In  behalf  of  the  committee  ap 
pointed  here  two  years  ago  by  the  people  and  the  Groton 
Monument  Association  to  devise  ways  and  means  for  repair 
ing  and  improving  the  Monument,  and  to  make  suitable  ar 
rangements  for  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Groton  Heights,  I  extend  to  this  great  assembly 
a  most  cordial  welcome. 

"  Aided  and  encouraged  in  their  work  by  the  Government, 
the  State,  and  the  People,  they  have  done  their  duty,  and  their 
report  is  before  you  in  the  reconstructed  classic  shaft  that 
stands  here  beside  us,  and  in  these  ample  preparations  for 
this  Centennial  Celebration. 

"  We  are  glad  to  be  instrumental  in  adding  another  to  the 
several  commemorative  centennials  that  have  occurred  within 
the  last  six  years,  awakening  our  entire  country  to  a  lively 
sense  of  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  the  men  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution,  contributing  to  heal  the  wounds  occasioned 
by  sectional  strife,  and  renewing  the  ancient  bonds  of  our 
common  nationality  over  our  widely-extended  area  of  human 
freedom. 

"  It  has  been  said,  by  the  greatest  of  American  historians, 
when  referring  to  the  gallant  defenders  of  Fort  Griswold,  that 
"  their  courage  and  love  of  country  should  be  celebrated  not 
only  at  the  end  of  a  century,  but  of  a  thousand  years."  And 
if,  in  the  onward  roll  of  the  centuries,  their  grateful  posterity 


Centennial.  323 

shall  assemble  here  to  celebrate  the  tenth  centennial,  we  may 
rest  assured  tha1:  the  Monument  we  have  so  handsomely  en 
larged  and  so  firmly  strengthened,  according  to  the  admirable 
plans  of  a  distinguished  engineer  of  the  army,  will  still  stand 
here  on  this  granite  hill  in  its  silent  but  eloquent  grandeur, 
to  tell  them  the  same  story  of  the  '  times  that  tried  men's 
souls  '  that  it  tells  us  here  to-day. 

"  We  come  together,  not  as  did  the  bereaved  kindred  of  the 
slain  for  the  first  half  century  after  the  conflict,  to  spend  the 
anniversary  in  mournfully  lingering  around  the  broken  walls 
of  the  old  fortification  ;  but  rather  do  we  come  with  hearts 
full  of  gratitude  for  national  blessings,  and  with  becoming 
pride  and  patriotic  exultation,  as  we  reflect  on  their  great  and 
good  deeds,  study  the  exemplary  lessons  they  have  left  us, 
and  teach  the  rising  generations  to  emulate  their  examples. 
Sacred  to  their  memory  we  bring  with  us  our  best  offerings, 
for  that  they  nobly  participated  in  laying  the  superstructure 
of  our  Republican  government  so  broad  and  deep  in  the  ce 
ment  of  perpetual  union,  that  neither  foreign  invasion  nor  do 
mestic  convulsions  can  shake  it  from  its  solid  foundations, — 

"  'They  never  die  who  fall  in  Freedom's  cause  : 
The  well-fought  field  may  soak  their  gore, 
Their  heads  may  sodden  in  the  sun, 
But  still  their  spirits  live  and  serve 
As  guides  along  the  pathway  of  mankind.' 

"This  is  the  people's  entertainment,  to  which  everybody  is 
respectfully  invited,  and  everybody  is  more  than  welcome." 

The  stillness  of  the  immense  audience  during  the  delivery 
of  these  words  of  welcome  was  interrupted  only  by  the  rust 
lings  of  applause  at  the  close  of  each  period. 

At  its  close  the  chairman  introduced  the  Rev.  Jared  R. 
A  very,  of  Groton,  who  offered  the  following  prayer  :  — 

"  Great  and  eternal  God,  we  bow  before  Thy  throne  as  the 
creatures  of  yesterday,  but  with  adoring  views  of  Thee  as  the 
Creator  and  Upholder  of  the  universe ;  and  we  acknowledge 
Thee  as  the  God  of  worlds,  of  nations,  and  of  armies  ;  as  the 
three  in  one  by  whom  our  fallen  race  has  been  redeemed  ;  by 


324  Battle  of  Groton   Heights. 

whom  our  once  weak  and  oppressed  country  has  been  set 
free  and  exalted  to  the  first  rank  among  the  nations.  Blessed 
be  Thy  name  for  bringing  our  ancestors  to  these  lands  of  the 
West ;  for  giving  them  harmonious  intercourse  with  the 
aborigines,  and  prosperity  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  We 
thank  Thee,  that,  when  foreign  injustice  .and  cruelty  bore 
heavily  upon  these  youthful  colonies,  Thou  didst  impart  cour 
age  to  resist,  and  to  this  resistance  Thou  didst  give  suc 
cess.  May  the  great  expenditure  of  treasure  and  toil  and 
blood,  through  which  this  success  was  achieved,  stimulate 
and  augment  the  love  of  country.  May  this  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  bloody  scenes  upon  these  grounds  to-day 
observed  lead  us  to  realize  the  cost  of  our  present  blessings 
and  to  prize  them  as  we  ought. 

"  May  we  be  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  our 
Revolutionary  fathers  as  successfully  to  resist  all  approaches 
of  our  country's  foe. 

"  May  peace  and  prosperity  continue  in  our  land  so  that 
every  good  cause  shall  advance  and  keep  pace  with  the  rapid 
increase  of  our  already  vast  population. 

"O  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  we  praise  Thee,' that  Revolution 
ary  patriots  were  stimulated  by  pure  Christianity,  and  failed 
not  to  commit  their  cause  to  Thee,  whose  favor  insured  their 
success.  To  Thee  do  we  commit  our  cause  to-day,  earnestly 
imploring  forgiveness  for  past  ingratitude,  unbelief,  and  un 
faithfulness.  May  the  divine  blessing  rest  upon  this  convo 
cation,  and  a  double  portion  of  the  spirit  of  '76  pervade  the 
nation.  Preserve  Thou  us  from  pestilence,  from  famine,  and 
the  sword.  Preserve  Thou  this  Union's  chief  magistrate, 
and  restore  him  to  vigorous  health  in  answer  to  prayer.  May 
the  interests  of  every  department  of  civil  government  be 
promoted,  and  the  nations  of  the  world  be  made  wiser  and 
better  through  the  hallowed  influence  of  these  United  States. 
O  Father,  grant  these  and  all  other  blessings  of  Thy  provi 
dence  and  grace  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end.  Amen." 


Centennial.  325 

Then  the  "Star-Spangled  Banner"  was  sung  by  a  chorus  of 
choirs  and  children  from  New  London  and  Groton,  led  by  the 
band  and  aided  by  the  audience ;  this  was  followed  by  the 
poem  of  Rose  Terry  Cooke,  read  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Lee,  of  Win- 
sted. 

GROTON  MASSACRE  CENTENNIAL  POEM. 

LIBERTY  !  dream  of  man's  short  eager  day. 

Goddess  !  who  on  the  distant  mountain  tops 

Out-shinest  dawn,  preluding  all  the  light. 

Vision  of  God,  power  inaccessible, 

Calm  is  thy  brow  and  silent  are  thy  lips, 

Spotless  thy  garment,  and  thy  lifted  eyes 

See,  over  all  the  unequal  heights  of  time, 

A  coming  hour  of  glory  and  of  triumph. 

A  light  ineffable,  a  sacred  peace, 

When  God's  great  freedom  shall  possess  the  earth, 

And  God's  frail  children  stand  erect  and  pure. 

Here  at  thy  feet,  through  all  the  flying  years, 

Dash  the  fierce  surges  of  the  world's  impatience  ; 

The  tidal  wave  of  agony  and  blood, 

The  flight  and  following  of  slave  and  tyrant, 

The  parted  sea,  the  shore  of  want  and  death, 

The  futile  struggle,  the  delayed  success, 

Loss,  terror,  anguish,  and  a  blank  despair, 

That  the  grave  heals,  the  dreamless  grave  alone. 

Yet,  Unattainable  !  thou  smilest  on 

With  Heaven's  high  peace  upon  thy  gracious  brow, 

Unmoved,  unfearing,  eminent,  secure, 

The  promise  of  a  future  yet  too  far  : 

Pledge  that  our  dream  is  true,  because  we  dream  it. 

Beholding  thee  aloft  in  stainless  splendor, 

We  dare  to  tell  what  men  have  borne  for  thee, 

What  blood  for  thee  was  spilt,  what  heroes  died, 

Before  the  teller  and  the  told  were  here. 

Yet  thou  wert  here  :  thy  hand  the  strife  impelled, 

The  deadly  strife  that  saved  their  sacred  honor, 

Their  children  yet  to  come,  their  native  land  ; 

And  made  their  memory  a  proud,  sad  story. 

For  us  to  treasure,  worship,  and  attain. 


326  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Hark! 

The  valley  slept  in  peace. 

Over  it  brooded  the  morning-star, 

Shining  soft  in  the  heavens  afar  ; 

And  the  cornfields'  rich  increase 

Waved  in  glittering  rustling  blades, 

The  dark  woods  murmured  in  their  glades 

AVith  the  murmur  of  the  dawn ; 

And  the  breath  of  night  withdrawn, 

Dropping  dews  from  the  dripping  leaves, 

The  lapping  tide  on  the  beach  that  grieves, 

The  sudden  cry  of  a  waking  bird, 

The  rustle  and  hush  where  a  squirrel  stirred, 

The  salt  sea-breeze  and  the  forest's  balm, 

Sighing  softly  across  the  calm. 

Hark  !  on  the  startled  ear, 

A  sharp  short  note  of  fear  : 

The  waker's  heart  stood  still, 

And  the  watcher,  with  a  thrill, 

Waited  to  hear ; 

It  was  not  the  war-whoop's  snarling  yell, 

Nor  the  sudden  throb  of  the  tocsin  bell : 

One  stroke,  — •  but  one  : 

The  boom  of  a  gun  : 

Then,  quick  as  leaping  flame,  another 

Answered  the  other. 
"  Help  !  "  they  said, 

In  tones  of  dread  : 
"The  fleet  of  the  foe 

Comes  in  below  !  " 

But  ere  the  signal  sound  had  rolled 

Its  woful  warning  to  field  and  fold, 

Its  speech  had  a  ready  traitor  told  ; 

And  another  roar 

From  the  further  shore 

Echoed  and  fell ; 

And  still  another, 

Cain  to  his  brother, 

The  challenging  of  hell  ! 

The  inland  forts  that  heard  the  sound, 

Wandering  upward  and  around, 


Centennial.  327 

Answered  not  to  the  wild  dismay 

Of  the  startled  dwellers  by  the  bay : 

No  signal  this  that  called  for  aid,  — 

Their  crops  were  ripe  and  their  sheaves  unmade, 

And  none  to  succor  or  fight  went  down. 

But  all  about  the  harbor-town 

Well  they  knew  the  note  of  war, 

When  cannon  thundered  near  and  far, 

And  ships  rode  thick  by  the  light-house  bar. 

Women  started  from  their  sleep, 

Men  sprang  out  to  the  farm-house  door, 

Out  from  the  village  homes  they  pour, 

Up  to  the  hill-top,  down  to  the  shore. 

Hurrying  here,  and  hurrying  there, 

For  death  and  slaughter  are  in  the  air, 

And  no  man's  failing  heart  may  dare 

To  linger  behind  and  tend  the  sheep, 

Nor  any  woman  a  man  to  keep 

Back  from  battle  with  clinging  prayer. 

One,  across  the  din  and  scare, 

Shouts  to  her  husband,  — 

"  Stop,  I  say  !  " 

"  Why  do  you  call  me  from  the  way  ?  " 
"  Just  one  word,  then  follow  their  track  : 

Don't  come  home  to  me  shot  in  the  back  1 " 
Onward  the  ragged  regiment, 

Like  an  angry  wave  of  the  harbor,  went, 

Bare  feet  bleeding,  breath  all  spent, 

But  a  fight  for  freedom  was  what  they  meant. 

And  now,  by  the  blaze  of  the  town  on  fire, 

By  the  black  smoke  rising  from  the  pyre 

Of  toil-won  treasure  and  hearts'  desire, 

By  thundering  cannon  and  savage  yell, 

The  country  side  knew  what  befell 

The  town  and  fortresses  loved  so  well : 

And  women  and  children  fled  like  bees 

Before  the  howl  of  a  northern  breeze,  — 

Fled  away  from  their  burning  hives, 

Fled  for  their  babies'  precious  lives  ; 

While  in  the  fortress  on  the  hill, 

Fathers  and  husbands  with  right  good  will 


328  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Fought  in  the  fury  of  despair  ; 
Sons  and  brothers  with  panting  breath 
Side  by  side  rushed  on  to  death  : 
Boys  cheered  on  by  their  father's  shout, 
Pouring  their  fresh  young  life-blood  out ; 
And  up  the  trampled  field  without 
With  flying  banners,  and  bayonet  set, 
With  drum,  and  trumpet,  and  waving  plume, 
Steadily  on  like  the  day  of  doom, 
Against  rude  bastion  and  parapet 
The  British  devils  their  onset  made, 
Ranks  of  traitor  and  renegade, 
Hireling  Hessian  and  English  serf, 
Surging  over  the  hill-side  turf, 
Soon  with  their  hot  blood  to  be  wet ; 
While  safe  and  high  on  Winthrop's  tomb 
Arnold  the  traitor,  cursed  of  man, 
Watched  how  the  cruel  strife  began, 
And  laughed  when  the  scarlet  river  ran, 
That  rose  in  the  hearts  of  friend  and  kin, 
But  drowned  his  soul  in  the  flood  of  sin. 
Over  against  him,  the  fort  within, 
LEDVARD  the  hero  held  his  men 
Up  to  their  work  with  a  grip  of  steel  : 
His  land's  true  lover  for  woe  or  weal 
Unto  the  death  he  served  her  then. 
"  Honor  or  life  ?  then  honor  first," 
.  The  parting  word  from  his  lips  that  burst, 

When  the  cannon's  call  with  awful  stress 
Thundered  across  his  peaceful  waking  ; 
And  like  the  day  of  judgment  breaking 
Fire,  and  terror,  and  distress 
Leapt  from  the  bosom  of  the  night, 
And  filled  the  land  with  wild  affright. 
But  hands  were  few  if  hearts  were  strong ; 
Strength  and  numbers  will  win  for  wrong, 
And  might  wreck  right  till  the  world  gives  out. 
Storming  up  the  rough  redoubt, 
Over  the  bastion  with  yell  and  shout, 
Swept  the  line  of  the  conquering  foe, 
And  the  starry  flag  lay  trampled  low, 


Centennial.  329 

Never  again  its  watch  to  keep. 
Murder  gleamed  in  the  leader's  face  : 
"  Who  is  commander  ?  yield  your  sword  !  " 
With  bending  head,  and  courteous  word, 
No  plea  for  quarter,  or  ruth,  or  grace, 
The  brave  man  offered  his  reddened  blade  : 
But  one  quick  stroke  the  murderer  made 
Sure  and  sharp  through  that  noble  breast, 
And  the  hero's  spirit  was  at  rest : 
Life  for  honor !  he  loved  it  best. 
Now  with  an  angry  tiger's  leap, 
The  victors  sprang  on  their  helpless  prey  ; 
Right  in  the  smiling  face  of  day 
Slaughter,  rapine,  and  fury  stood 
Deep  in  rivers  of  kindred  blood. 
Mercy,  pity,  honor  fled 
With  hidden  faces  before  their  tread  ; 
Shrieks,  and  groans,  and  mortal  cries 
Shuddered  up  to  the  placid  skies, 
And  the  living  held  their  breath 
As  the  dying  prayed  for  death  : 
And  the  dead  men  fell  away, 
Face  downward  to  the  clay. 

Oh,  day  too  sad  and  long, 
Day  of  despair  and  wrong, 
Drunk  with  death's  purple  wine 
Poured  out  as  a  wasting  flood, 
Mad  with  the  draught  of  blood 
Were  hell's  insatiate  brood. 
The  living  and  dead  they  hewed 
With  pitiless  sword, 
And  taunting  word, 
With  scoff  and  sneer 
In  the  dying  ear, 
Till  the  weary  day's  decline; 
Then  with  their  captives  and  their  spoil, 
With  drunken  laughter  and  loud  turmoil, 
Down  to  the  blue  and  silent  bay 
The  conquering  murderers  took  their  way, 
But  on  that  ghastly  hill 
The  dead  lay  cold  and  still. 


330  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Dead  !  dead  !  but  yet  they  speak  ;  oh,  cruel  Mother  ! 

Calling  to  thee  with  lips  of  living  wrath, 
"  Cursed  be  he  who  slays  his  brother, 

Curse'd  the  hand  that  points  his  path. 

Were  we  not  thine,  —  nursed  on  thy  knees,  — 

Cast  out  to  tempt  the  wintry  seas  ? 

Here  have  we  wrought  in  peace, 

Here  have  we  found  release. 

What  had  we  done  to  these  ? 

Mother  !  Medea  !  murderess  !  we  are  thine." 

And  England's  haughty  heart, 

Hardened  in  strife  and  mart, 

Scorned  the  sad  cry. 

But  widowed  lives  and  souls  in  pain, 

Children  weeping  for  the  slain, 

Gathered  up  the  dread  refrain  : 
"  Oh,  cruel  Mother  !  where  is  our  brother? 

Why  is  our  father  dead  upon  the  plain  ?  " 

Alas  for  the  former  days, 

For  the  anger  and  the  woe 

That  vanished  long  ago, 

And  left  for  us  below 

Only  their  good  and  praise. 

Alas  for  the  Mother's  ways  ! 

She  sowed  her  dragon's  teeth 

And  quick  up-sprung  the  spears, 

The  iron  spears  of  death, 

With  iron  hearts  beneath, 

And  the  war-storm's  angry  breath. 

But  these  with  blood  and  tears 

Watered  the  sod  for  years, 

And  the  beautiful  bloom  of  peace, 

The  corn  and  wine's  increase, 

Were  the  harvest  of  their  fears. 

Look  at  these  spires  and  towers  ! 

These  goodly  fields  and  farms 

Where  never  a  shot  alarms  : 

At  the  merchant  and  the  mariner 

Whose  busy  toil  no  fear  can  stir, 

The  wide  blue  bay,  the  stately  ships, 

And  the  trailing  pennon  of  steam  that  slips 


Centennial.  331 


In  and  out  by  the  winding  river  : 

Look  at  the  thousand  smokes  that  quiver 

Up  from  this  lovely  land  of  ours, 

From  quiet  hearths  beside  whose  blaze 

Linger  long,  peaceful,  happy  days  ; 

They  bought  them  with  their  lives, 

The  dead  who  lie  around 

This  consecrated  ground ; 

In  these  their  life  survives. 

Give  them  their  meed  of  laud  and  tears, 

The  tribute  of  a  hundred  years. 

And  this  is  history. 
An  echo  from  the  cry  of  man, 
Since  first  his  vibrant  voice  began 
To  stir  the  silent  vaults  of  air: 
Up-rising  here,  recurring  there, 
Through  time  and  space  forever  ringing, 
Across  the  gulf  of  centuries  springing, 
Humanity's  sad  tale  to  bear. 
In  every  tone  the  old  repeat : 
"  With  one  red  blood  all  true  hearts  beat. 
There  is  one  honor  and  one  faith, 
To  every  knightly  soul  one  breath, 
To  every  hero  one  great  death." 
It  tells  to-day  in  ardent  strain, 
Of  patriot  sires  who  fought  in  vain 
Here  on  this  green  and  fortressed  hill, 
And  re-repeats  the  story  still. 
Of  other,  later  knights,  who  stood 
Loyal  in  that  rebellious  flood 
When  Lincoln  called  for  men  : 
When  lonely  Sumter  lost  her  flag, 
And  not  one  true  man  dared  to  lag, 
But  like  the  lover  to  his  bride 
Sprang  forward  to  their  leader's  side, 
Bearded  the  panther  in  its  den, 
And  true  to  old  ancestral  pride, 
Even  as  their  fathers,  fought  and  died. 

For  sacred  Liberty. 
And  up  again  from  the  silent  dead 
Comes  Benedict  Arnold,  hand  and  head ; 


33 2  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Rebel  chieftain  to  plan  and  plot, 
Rude  assassin  with  pistol  shot  ; 
Traitor  here,  and  murderer  there  ; 
Or  wily  schemer,  afraid  to  dare, 
But  quick  to  lay  his  poisonous  snare, 
And  fire  another,  vile  and  weak, 
To  act  the  treason  he  dare  not  speak  : 
Deaf  to  the  Voice  which  still  and  low 
Whispers  a  word  of  dread  and  woe 
That  veils  the  eyes  of  the  seraphim  : 
"Who  hateth  his  brother  murders  him." 
These  shall  a  smitten  country  send 
Down  to  their  lives'  unblessed  end, 
Hand  in  hand  with  him  who  sold 
Their  country's  freedom  for  British  gold, 
And  ages  on  ages  yet  unborn 
Point  to  their  names  with  curse  and  scorn. 
And  when  once  more  the  sword  of  strife 
Threatened  and  rent  our  country's  life,  — 
When  once  again  for  our  rights  we  bled, 
And  strewed  our  meadows  with  precious  dead, — 
Again  the  heart  of  the  Mother-land 
Hardened  itself  against  our  woe, 
Held  to  greet  us  no  friendly  hand, 
Aided  and  comforted  our  foe. 
Unforgiving  and  haughty  still, 
To  the  child  that  thwarted  her  iron  will. 
When,  oh  when  !  shall  the  echo  cease, 
And  the  severed  nations  be  bound  in  peace  ? 

Rest  on,  0  heroes  !  in  your  silent  slumber  : 
Hail  and  farewell,  ye  mighty  moveless  dead  1 

Long  as  her  centuries  earth  shall  know  and  number, 
Green  be  the  laurel  boughs  above  ye  spread. 

Your  course  is  sped  ;  your  record  man  remembers, 
And  God's  own  hand  your  sacred  dust  shall  keep ; 

Though  all  the  flame  hath  left  those  mortal  embers, 
Upward  it  sprang,  with  bright,  immortal  leap. 

Sleep  in  your  country's  heart ;  forever  holy, 
Your  memory  shines  along  the  slopes  we  tread  ; 


Centennial.  333 

Another  hundred  years  their  incense  lowly 

Ere  long  shall  o'er  your  sculptured  honors  shed. 

And  we  who  bring  you  grace  and  salutation, 
We  too  shall  sleep  ;  and  nobler  tribes  of  men 

Shall  offer  here  the  homage  of  a  nation 
Rich  with  a  wisdom  far  beyond  our  ken. 

But  still,  as  years  return,  shall  man  returning 

Fight,  fall,  despair,  or  chant  the  conqueror's  psalm  ; 

Still  the  same  light  in  patriot  hearts  be  burning, 
And  Heaven,  still  just,  bestow  the  martyr's  palm. 

After  this,  Keller's  American  Hymn  was  sung,  when,  in 
response  to  the  wishes  of  Governor  Bigelow  and  others,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  offered  the  follow 
ing  prayer  for  President  Garfield  :  "  Let  us  pray. 

"O  God,  Thou  art  our  dwelling-place  in  all  generations. 
Our  fathers  trusted  in  Thee,  and  Thou  didst  hear  and  deliver 
them.  By  their  sufferings  and  their  sacrifices,  and  by  all  that 
Thou  hast  wrought  for  us  and  the  world,  Thou  hast  taught  us 
to  make  Thee  our  God  and  to  call  upon  Thy  name.  We  lift 
up  our  hearts  to  Thee  in  accord  with  the  millions  of  people 
who,  to-day,  are  calling  upon  Thee  in  behalf  of  Thy  servant, 
the  President  of  these  United  States,  who  in  Thy  wisdom  has 
been  permitted  to  approach  the  gates  of  death.  O  God,  we 
thank  Thee  that  his  life  has  been  spared  through  so  much 
suffering,  infirmity,  and  pain,  to  this  clay,  and  we  beseech 
Thee  to  spare  this  precious  life  and  return  Thy  servant  to 
the  use  of  that  high  office  to  which  by  Thy  providence  he 
was  called  by  the  people.  Give  him  life,  strength,  and  wis 
dom,  and  all  honor  in  the  administration  of  the  government, 
and  grant  that  under  his  direction  and  guidance  the  people 
may  have  even  greater  prosperity,  and  that  their  hearts  may 
be  knit  in  the  bonds  of  union  and  fraternity.  O  God,  we  be 
seech  Thee  to  hear  the  prayers  of  Thy  people  and  grant  their 
request.  Grant  us  our  petition  in  behalf  of  Thy  servant,  and 
we  will  rejoice  in  Thy  goodness  to  Thy  people.  We  ask 
it,  believing  Thou  art  a  God  who  hears  prayer,  and  through 


334  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Christ,  the  world's  Redeemer,  to  whom  be  glory  to  the  world's 
end.     Amen." 


General  Joseph  R.  Havvley,  United  States  Senator  from 
Connecticut,  being  introduced  as  the  orator  of  the  day,  spoke 
to  the  listening  thousands  as  follows  :  — 

THE    ORATION. 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow -Citizens :  We  have  assembled 
to  celebrate  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  largest  and 
most  important  military  engagement  that  ever  took  place 
within  the  borders  of  our  industrious,  peace-loving,  and  lib 
erty-loving  Commonwealth.  Happily  we  come  with  emotions 
of  pride  and  gratitude,  as  to  a  festival  in  honor  of  Connecti 
cut  and  its  whole  history.  To  those  who  were  then  our  ene 
mies,  now,  we  hope,  our  friends  forever,  the  capture  of  Fort 
Griswold,  on  Groton  Heights,  September  6,  1781,  was  a  vic 
tory,  they  said,  but  they  went  away  writing  regrets  and  apol 
ogies  to  civilization  and  to  posterity,  and  found  that  they  had 
but  hammered  into  finer  gold  the  patriotism  of  New  England  ; 
they  had  but  furnished  a  new  inspiration  to  the  cause  they 
came  to  destroy.  To  the  noble  souls  who  laid  down  their 
bodies  in  the  bloody  dust  right  here,  or  by  divine  favor  sur 
vived,  and  to  their  wives,  children,  and  neighbors,  it  was  a 
defeat  ;  they  acknowledged,  a  sore  and  sad  defeat,  a  bloody 
and  barbarous  massacre  ;  but  their  children's  children  and 
their  neighbors  of  the  good  State,  and  the  worshippers  of 
high  courage  and  self-sacrifice  from  distant  places,  have  daily 
come  here  on  pilgrimages  for  a  century,  in  honor  of  the  dead, 
and  for  their  own  spiritual  refreshment  and  elevation. 

From  this  goodly  height  that  lofty  monumental  column 
looks  over  the  noble  harbor  out  upon  one  of  the  busiest  of  the 
great  highways  of  commerce,  which  is  only  in  the  beginning 
of  its  activities,  and  from  generation  to  generation  increasing 
multitudes  passing  by  shall  recall  that  glorious  sacrificial  day 
of  freedom. 

We  have  not  come  here  as  patrons  to  confer  favors  and 
graciously  bestow  praises.  We  are  here  to  vindicate  and  jus- 


Centennial.  335 

tily  ourselves.  Poor  indeed  must  a  people  be,  if  any  such  can 
be  imagined,  who  care  for  none  of  these  things  ;  who  observe 
no  sacred  days  of  patriotism  ;  who  build  no  monuments;  who 
ask  what  is  all  this  worth  ?  —  who  say,  "  The  dead  cannot  hear 
us  nor  repay  us,  why  do  we  address  them  ?  "  -  who  inquire 
"  Why  is  all  this  precious  ointment  wasted  ?  "  But  it  is  not 
that  we  may  tally  one  more  formal  duty  discharged  that  we 
are  gathered  ;  we  are  glad  and  proud  that  Connecticut  has 
ground  so  consecrated  ;  we  thank  God  that  men  lived  in  1781, 
whoso  justified  the  traditional  beliefs  and  civilization  of'New 
England  ;  we  are  willing  to  believe  that  they  see  this  great 
assemblage,  and  hear  our  felicitations  and  congratulations, 
our  songs  of  praise  and  the  exultant  thunder  of  our  peaceful 
artillery.  We  come  to  think  with  renewed  wonder  of  the 
marvellous  growth  of  the  nation  they  founded  in  feebleness, 
to  indulge  solemnly,  if  not  with  dread  anxiety,  in  visions  of 
the  awful  grandeur  of  the  possible  and  probable  future  of  this 
land.  We  come  to  reflect  that  our  country  will  steadily  need 
in  us  and  our  successors  the  manhood  and  high  devotion  of 
our  ancestors,  and  to  renew  our  vows  of  supreme  consecration 
to  its  highest  good  in  peace  or  war. 

Before  attempting  to  sketch  the  prominent  features  of  the 
battle  and  its  attendant  skirmishes  and  conflagrations,  with 
which  the  good  people  of  this  vicinity,  if  not  all  my  hearers, 
are  very  familiar,  I  have  thought  it  not  unprofitable  to  glance 
at  the  history  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  and  to  seek  for 
some  of  the  causes  that  made  it  a  body  of  people  compact  in 
civil  and  religious  organization,  well  disciplined,  steady  in 
their  adherence  to  law  in  times  of  peace,  promptly  obedient 
to  all  the  demands  of  war,  and  indomitable,  save  by  annihila 
tion,  in  the  defence  of  their  rights. 

As  usual  in  New  England,  the  first  permanent  settlers  of 
Connecticut  came  here  bearing  with  them  church  organiza 
tions  and  officers.  They  were  specially  fortunate  in  the  char 
acter  of  the  early  clergymen,  who  were  in  general  men  of  ex 
cellent  education,  strong  in  the  highest  elements  of  character, 
products  of  the  long  agitation  in  England  in  behalf  of  civil 
and  religious  freedom.  Trumbull,  the  historian,  affirms  that 


336  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

they  were  all  republicans,  that  they  rejected  with  abhorrence 
the  doctrines  of  the  divine  rights  of  kings,  passive  obedience, 
and  non-resistance.  With  Sydney  and  Hampden,  and  all  that 
school  of  philosophers  and  statesmen,  they  believed  that  all 
government  of  civil  power  was  in  the  people.  There  was 
Thomas  Hooker,  the  spiritual,  intellectual,  and  political  leader 
and  master  of  his  flock,  who,  in  the  early  sermon  of  which, 
fortunately,  we  still  possess  the  notes,  laid  down  the  funda 
mental  doctrine  of  the  distant  Republic. 

At  the  opening  of  the  General  Court,  May  31,  1738,  Mr. 
Hooker,  pastor  of  the  first  church  of  the  colony,  preached  the 
annual  election  sermon,  having  the  text  before  him:  "Take 
you  wise  men  and  understanding,  and  I  will  make  them  rulers 
over  you."  Upon  which  the  chief  points  were  these  :  — 

Doctrine  I.  That  the  choice  of  public  magistrates  belongs 
unto  the  people  by  God's  own  allowance. 

II.  The  privilege  of  election,  which  belongs  to  the  people, 
therefore  must  not  be  exercised  according  to  their  humors, 
but  according  to  the  blessed  will  and  law  of  God. 

III.  They  who  have  power  to  appoint  officers  and  magis 
trates,  it  is  in  their  power,  also,  to  set  the  bounds  and  limita 
tions  of  the  power  and  place  unto  which  they  call  them. 

Reasons.  I.  Because  the  foundation  of  authority  is  laid, 
firstly,  in  the  free  consent  of  the  people. 

II.  Because,  by  a  free  choice,  the  hearts  of  the  people  will 
be  more  inclined  to  the  love  of  the  persons  chosen  and  more 
ready  to  yield  obedience. 

This  discourse  before  the  rulers  of  the  infant  colony,  and 
his  letter  written  about  that  time  to  Governor  Winthrop  of 
Massachusetts,  admirably  defining  the  doctrine  that  true  lib 
erty  can  exist  only  in  obedience  to  law  made  by  men  chosen 
by  all  the  people,  leave  no  doubt  that  he  was  a  prime  mover 
in  the  political  action  of  the  colonists. 

One  of  their  earliest  concerns  was  to  lay  down  the  frame 
of  civil  government.  It  is  significant  that  it  appears  never  to 
have  entered  their  minds  to  ask  assistance,  or  even  permis 
sion,  from  the  king  and  parliament  of  Great  Britain.  It  was 
the  ideal  construction  imagined  by  the  visionaries.  It  was 


Centennial.  337 

the  first  example  in  history  of  a  written  constitution,  organiz 
ing  a  government,  dividing  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi 
cial  departments,  and  defining  their  powers.  Premising  that 
"  where  a  people  are  gathered  together,  the  law  of  God  re 
quires  that,  to  maintain  the  peace  and  union  of  such  a  people, 
there  should  be  an  orderly  and  decent  government  established 
according  to  God,  to  order  and  dispose  of  the  affairs  of  the 
people  at  all  seasons  as  occasion  shall  require,"  they  associ 
ated  and  conjoined  themselves  together,  "as  one  public  State 
or  Commonwealth,"  to  maintain  and  preserve  the  liberty  and 
purity  of  the  gospel  ...  as  also  in  civil  affairs  to  be  guided 
and  governed  according  to  such  laws,  rules,  orders,  and  de 
crees  as  shall  be  made,  ordered,  and  decreed."  They  pro. 
vided  for  two  general  assemblies  or  courts  each  year;  the  first 
assembly  to  choose  public  officers,  among  them  a  governor 
for  the  year  ensuing  or  until  another  be  chosen,  and  with  him 
six  assistants,  with  power  to  administer  justice  according  to 
the  laws  here  established,  and  "  in  want  thereof  according  to 
the  rule  of  the  Word  of  God  ;  "  said  election  to  be  made  by 
all  who  are  admitted  freemen,  and  have  taken  the  oath  of 
fidelity  and  reside  within  the  jurisdiction,  "  having  been  ad 
mitted  inhabitants  by  the  major  part  of  the  town  "  where 
they  lived.  All  their  elections  were  by  ballot ;  no  person 
could  be  governor  more  than  once  in  two  years.  To  said 
court  of  elections  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns  came 
first  themselves  and  afterwards  sent  their  deputies,  chosen  by 
ballot  in  each  town  by  a  meeting  which  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof  were  warned  to  attend.  Should  the  governor,  or  mag 
istrates  or  assistants,  fail  to  call  the  two  general  courts  or  as 
semblies  of  the  year,  and  still  after  petition  to  so  call  them, 
the  freemen  of  the  towns  had  power  to  give  order  to  their 
constables  to  warn  the  said  meeting,  at  which  the  freemen 
might  proceed  to  do  any  act  of  power  which  the  General  Court 
might  do.  The  deputies,  or  members  of  the  legislature,  had 
power  to  appoint  a  time  and  place  of  meeting  together  in  ad 
vance  of  any  general  court,  to  advise  and  consult  regarding 
the  good  of  the  public,  and  "also  to  examine  their  own  elec 
tions,"  and,  in  case  of  finding  an  election  illegal,  to  exclude 


338  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

the  deputy,  and  return  their  reasons  to  the  court,  that  it 
might  fine  the  parties  so  intruding  and  the  town  also,  if  they 
saw  cause,  and  issue  a  warrant  for  a  new  election.  And  the 
deputies  or  legislators  had  power  to  fine  the  disorderly  or  the 
•absentees.  A  general  court  was  to  consist  of  the  governor, 
four  at  least  of  the  six  magistrates,  and  a  majority  of  the  dep 
uties  chosen,  "  in  which  said  general  courts  shall  consist  the 
supreme  power  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  they  only  shall 
have  power  to  make  laws  or  repeal  them,  to  grant  levies,  to 
admit  freemen,"  and  also  "power  to  call  either  a  court  or 
magistrate,  or  any  other  person  whatsoever,  for  any  misde 
meanor;"  and  also  "deal  in  any  other  matter  that  concerns 
the  good  of  this  Commonwealth,  except  the  election  of  magis 
trates,  which  shall  be  done  by  the  whole  body  of  freemen." 
"  None  of  these  courts  shall  be  adjourned  or  dissolved  with 
out  the  consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  court."  Further  pro 
visions  of  similar  democratic  character  need  not  be  recited. 
This  constitution  was  adopted  in  January,  1639,  and  its  traces 
can  be  found  in  all  the  constitutions  of  the  Union.  By  the 
oath  of  office  administered  to  the  governor,  which  contained 
no  reference  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  he  engaged  to 
"  maintain  all  lawful  privileges  of  this  Commonwealth,"  "to 
promote  the  public  good  and  peace  of  the  same,"  and  also 
that  "  all  wholesome  laws  that  are  or  shall  be  made  by  lawful 
authority  here  established  shall  be  duly  executed,"  and  bound 
him  to  "further  the  execution  of  justice  according  to  God's 
word."  The  oaths  of  all  officers  were  of  the  same  general 
character. 

When  Charles  II.  came  to  the  throne,  fearful  lest  their 
freedom  might  attract  hostile  attention,  the  colony  made  a 
formal  declaration  of  their  allegiance  to  the  crown  and  ap 
plied  for  a  charter.  The  government  of  the  colony  of  New 
Haven,  originally  purely  that  of  the  church,  had  gradually 
grown  into  close  analogy  to  the  system  of  Connecticut. 
Seeking  the  aid  of  all  the  promoters  and  friends  of  the  col 
onies  in  Great  Britain,  the  sagacious  and  diplomatic  Win- 
throp  obtained  a  charter  combining  both  colonies  under  the 
name  of  "The  Governor  and  Company  of  the  English  Colony 


Cen  ten  n  ia  I.  339 

of  Connecticut  in  New  England,"  securing  therein  all  the 
principles  of  their  colonial  constitution,  and  valuable  privi 
leges  in  addition.  So  smoothly  and  happily  did  this  govern 
ment  proceed,  so  entirely  could  every  emergency  be  met  by 
statute  under  the  loose  and  easy  charter,  that,  as  every  one 
knows,  it  was  not  until  1818  that  a  formal  modern  constitution 
was  adopted.  Save  the  nomination  of  John  Winthrop  in  the 
charter  as  governor  for  one  year,  and  the  temporary  reign  of 
Sir  Edmund  Andros  for  some  eighteen  months  (submitted 
to  by  the  leaders  but  never  acknowledged  by  the  people, 
while  the  charter  was  secretly  cherished),  for  two  hundred 
and  forty-three  years  Connecticut  has  annually  chosen  its  leg 
islators  and  governors,  appointed  its  own  judges,  enacted  all 
its  own  laws,  with  no  approval  but  that  of  its  governor,  levied 
its  own  taxes,  organized  its  own  troops,  and  commissioned 
its  own  military  officers  ;  in  short,  has  been  without  break  or 
change  or  civil  disturbance  of  any  kind,  the  steadiest,  calm 
est,  most  peaceful  and  freest  commonwealth  on  earth.  No 
government  whatever  has  known  less  of  change  during  that 
period. 

An  exceedingly  important  factor  in  its  character  was  that 
relation  between  church  and  state  which  is  not  adapted  to 
the  present  day.  Substantially  all  believers  in  one  form  of 
church  government,  if  not  precisely  in  one  creed,  the  church 
was  a  part  of  the  state.  No  ecclesiastics,'  as  such,  took  part 
in  the  civil  government,  but  every  church  organization  was 
maintained  by  a  tax  upon  the  general  list.  The  town  was  the 
unit  of  political  organization  ;  an  absolute  ideal  democracy, 
in  which  all  the  male  inhabitants  of  proper  age  assembled  in 
person  with  the  right  to  the  final  regulation  of  a  considerable 
range  of  subjects,  and,  each  town"  for  itself,  the  right  which 
no  man  has  been  able  to  shake  from  the  first  day  to  this,  to 
send  its  deputies  to  the  legislature.  In  the  earlier  clays, 
while  the  town  was  the  unit,  and  the  church  was  nearly  equiva 
lent  thereto,  the  military  company  well  represented  them  both. 
The  pastor  was  often  first  in  his  educational  advantages,  and 
not  infrequently  the  leader  of  the  town  in  all  things.  Inevit 
ably,  the  General  Assembly  perfectly  echoed  the  will  of  the 


34°  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

people,  bringing  it  back  to  each  town  with  the  added  sanction 
of  all  the  towns.  The  church  was  the  creator  and  pillar  of 
the  state,  and,  by  the  aid  of  the  church,  the  will  of  the  state 
became  irresistible.  Divide  a  commonwealth  into  fifty  or  one 
hundred  towns  thus  organized  and  controlled,  and  what  per 
fection  of  system  and  discipline  is  obtained  ! 

Nor  were  these  all  the  elements  of  strength.  From  the 
first  day  the  education  of  all  the  people  was  accepted  as  a 
serious  religious  and  political  duty.  Each  town  of  fifty  in 
habitants  or  more  was  required  to  maintain  a  good  school, 
and  each  county  a  good  grammar  school,  under  severe  penal 
ties  for  disobedience.  The  selectmen  were  required  to  see  to 
it  by  personal  inspection  that  no  family  neglected  the  secular 
and  religious  teaching  of  its  children  and  servants. 

With  such  a  people,  while  the  circumstances  made  military 
organization  and  discipline  a  necessity,  they  were  also  an 
easy  task,  if  not  a  positive  pleasure.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
colony  and  the  state  have  never  been  a  warlike  people,  for 
all  their  interests  ran  in  the  direction  of  peace,  and  the  sever 
ities  of  nature  compelled  them  to  industry,  but  they  have 
always  been  a  military  people.  I  have  not  read  anywhere  in 
history  of  a  more  prompt  response  to  the  call  to  arms,  a  more 
cheerful  submission  to  all  the  pains  and  burdens  of  pro 
tracted  war,  than  Connecticut  has  exhibited  from  the  begin 
ning  to  the  end.  I  said  her  people  were  not  warlike.  Save 
when  the  dangerous  Pequots  required  suppression  they  never 
have  engaged  in  a  war  which  their  own  conduct  or  desires  had 
anything  to  do  with  provoking.  Yet  they  have  never  shown 
an  unwillingness  to  assume  their  share  or  more  than  their 
share  of  any  duty. 

In  1637  the  little  republic  of  three  hundred  souls,  in  mor 
tal  terror  of  the  Pequots,  sent  ninety  men  under  Captain 
John  Mason  to  end  their  troubles,  and  the  Pequot  tribe  was 
mortally  wounded.  I  pass  by  the  troubles  with  the  Dutch 
whom  the  colonies  of  New  Haven  and  Connecticut  were  at 
one  time  exceedingly  anxious  to  fight,  and  note  the  bloody 
war  of  King  Philip,  where,  from  the  first  to  last,  the  Connec 
ticut  troops,  in  their  full  share  of  numbers,  were  prompt,  un- 


Centennial  341 

tiring,  and  undaunted.  Said  the  General  Assembly,  "  in  that 
signal  service,  the  fort  fight  in  the  Narragansetts,  as  we  had 
our  full  number,  so  all  say  they  did  their  full  proportion  of 
service.  .  .  .  Our  mourners  over  all  the  colony  witness  for 
our  men  that  they  were  not  unfaithful  on  that  day."  Of  the 
two  hundred  lost,  Connecticut  furnished  one  hundred,  and 
four  of  the  five  brave  captains  laid  down  their  lives. 

Who  remembers  that  Connecticut  and  other  New  England 
soldiers  laid  their  bones  in  Carthagena  and  Cuba?  In  1740, 
New  England  sent  a  thousand  brave  men  with  the  British 
fleet  to  the  Spanish  West  Indies.  Of  that  one  thousand  not 
one  hundred  returned.  Connecticut  voted  .£45,000  for  that 
war  with  Spain,  while  the  colony  contained  scarce  a  hun 
dred  thousand  inhabitants.  France  and  England  declared 
war  in  1744,  and  without  waiting  for  the  mother  country,  New 
England  devised  the  gloriously  successful  expedition  against 
Louisburg,  and,  first  and  last,  Connecticut  contributed  2,000 
men,  including  the  crew  of  her  smart  little  sloop-of-war.  And 
like  her  New  England  sisters,  she  paid  her  own  bills,  while 
the  English  appropriated  the  prizes,  worth  a  million  sterling. 
For  the  next  expedition  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  out  of  5,300 
New  Englanders,  Connecticut  furnished  1,000,  paying  a 
bounty  of  £30  each.  An  uneasy  peace  came  in  1748. 

In  1755,  the  long  war  with  France  having  broken  out,  Con 
necticut  raised  1,000  troops,  and  ended  by.  giving  3,000.  In 
1756  she  raised  2,500,  or  double  the  number  asked  for  by  Gen 
eral  Abercrombie  as  her  share,  giving  as  a  reason  that  some 
of  the  southern  colonies  might  not  furnish  their  proportion. 

These  troops  were  annually  raised  for  the  campaign  of  the 
season.  In  1757  she  sent  out  her  quota  of  1,400,  and  after 
the  loss  of  Fort  William  Henry,  moved  by  the  general  alarm 
and  indignation,  raised  and  sent  into  the  field  in  a  few  days  an 
additional  5,000.  In  1758  the  annual  letter  from  William  Pitt 
was  answered  by  another  5,000,  and  in  1759,  again  the  call  for 
5,000  came.  Connecticut  staggered  for  once.  The  Assembly 
voted  3,600,  then  made  it  4,000,  then  added  1,000  more.  This 
year  came  the  reduction  of  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  Niag 
ara,  and  Quebec.  In  1760  came  again  the  annual  epistle  from 


342  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

Pitt,  and  indomitable  Connecticut  sent  her  5,000  again.  Then 
all  Canada  surrendered  to  Lord  Amherst.  Connecticut 
congratulated  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and 
"thanked  him  for  his  paternal  care  of  his  colonies."  In  1761, 
William  Pitt,  as  usual,  issued  his  epistle,  but  asked  only  for 
3,300  men  for  important  enterprises.  Connecticut  sent  2,300, 
vho  spent  the  season  in  building  and  repairing  fortifications, 
n  1762,  when  the  English  resolved  to  strike  a  blow  at  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  the  West  Indies,  500  men  from  New 
Jersey,  800  from  New  York,  and  1,000  from  Connecticut,  the 
latter  under  Putnam,  with  General  Lyman,  of  Connecticut, 
commanding  the  whole,  joined  the  great  fleet  of  37  ships  of  war 
and  150  transports  and  landed  near  Havana.  A  few  officers 
and  soldiers,  wasted  to  skeletons,  history  says,  were  the  sole 
New  England  survivors  of  that  campaign.  Trumbull  de 
clares  that  but  a  mere  handful  returned  to  lay  their  bones  on 
their  native  soil.  In  eight  years,  from  1755  to  1762,  inclu 
sive,  Connecticut  marched  out  30,200  men  in  actual  enlist 
ments.  The  population  of  the  colony  is  reported  in  1756  at 
131, 805,  in  1762  at  145,666.  The  careful  and  conscientious 
historian,  Trumbull,  estimates  the  cost  to  Connecticut  during 
those  eight  years,  after  deducting  the  pittance  received  from 
Parliament,  at  .£400,000.  This  takes  no  account  of  the  heavy 
local  and  individual  expenditures  for  substitutes  and  the  sup 
port  of  families.  These  are  amazing  facts  of  record  :  that  the 
colony  taxed  itself  enormously  during  the  whole  war  ;  that  it 
discharged  the  whole  debt  in  a  few  years  ;  that  it  grew  in 
population,  and  that  an  era  of  prosperity  followed.  The  fire 
of  the  people  was  unquenchable.  Says  the  historian  truly : 
"  The  exploits  of  her  gallant  officers  — her  Lymans,  her  Whit 
ings,  her  Parsons,  her  Dyers,  her  Spencers,  her  Hinmans, 
her  Coits,  her  Fitches,  her  Durkees,  her  Woosters,  her  Put- 
nams,  and  her  Wolcotts  — were  as  glorious  as  their  fame  will 
be  immortal." 

Forget  not  the  brave,  unrecorded  dead  who  scattered  their 
bones  over  a  hundred  fields  between  Quebec  and  Louisburg 
on  the  north,  and  Carthagena  and  Havana  on  the  south, 
Forget  not  the  equally  brave  women,  who  prayed  and  labored 
at  home,  but  never  said  "stay  "  to  the  soldier. 


Centennial.  343 

Evidently  these  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  in  the 
wilderness  had  bred  a  people  to  be  depended  upon.  To  the 
superficial  glance  of  the  worldly-minded  man  of  modern  days, 
I  presume  there  was  little  to  appeal  to  the  imagination  in  the 
home,  in  the  culture,  or  the  character  of  the  New  Englander 
of  1765.  To  him  religion  was  a  great,  high,  solemn,  severe 
duty  ;  the  dread  word  "  duty  "  dominated  over  all  his  activi 
ties.  He  wasted  no  time,  he  had  no  vain  trifling  or  expensive 
amusements.  He  listened  to  long  sermons  with  patience,  if 
not  always  with  pleasure.  He  made  the  laws  himself,  and  he 
would  permit  no  man  to  disobey  them.  He  indulged  in  no 
fantastic  dreams  of  chivalry.  He  was  never  embarrassed  by 
a  supposed  necessity  for  fighting  a  duel.  If  you  desired  to 
wake  the  man  to  combat  you  must  conjure  with  the  word 
"duty,"  and  the  governor  must  issue  his  proclamation.  But 
there  was  a  mental  and  moral  fibre  in  these  men  of  New 
England  that  made  them  the  founders  of  empire,  and  the 
strain  of  their  blood  is  apparent  to-day  along  the  parallels  of 
latitude  from  Maine  to  the  Pacific. 

They  were  being  educated  for  a  struggle  of  which  few 
could  have  dreamed  in  1762.  They  indulged  in  a  stately 
and  honorable  loyalty,  because  God  said  "  Honor  the  king," 
and  they  feared  the  Spaniard  and  the  Frenchman.  But  there 
were  many  things  that  caused  them  to  pause  and  think.  The 
farmers  of  Lebanon  and  Pomfret  who  accepted  whatever  the 
General  Assembly  said,  because  they  had  made  the  General 
Assembly,  must  have  begun  to  wonder  whether  it  would  not 
be  well  that  a  small  people  who  mustered  30,000  in  eight 
years  and  worked  ^400,000  out  of  their  rocky  lands,  ought 
not  to  have  something  to  say  about  how  these  wars  came  to 
pass.  Yet  they  had  never  paid  a  tax  that  was  not  levied  by 
their  own  General  Assembly,  nor  had  a  king  or  a  king's  col 
onel  ever  issued  a  command  directly  to  their  regiments. 

The  time  for  their  great  trial  rapidly  approached.  The 
stubborn  king  and  foolish  ministry  knew  not  what  manner  of 
men  had  grown  from  the  transplanted  English  stock.  A  new 
sra  dawned  upon  the  world  at  Lexington,  where 

.  .  .  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world. 


344  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

At  the  word,  about  seventy-five  companies  and  squads 
started  for  Boston,  representing  fifty  towns  from  Greenwich 
to  Woodstock  and  Pomfret,  and  numbering  near  3,000.  In 
the  roll  of  officers  I  see  were  names  that  became  illustrious 
in  the  Revolution  and  at  a  later  day.  Israel  Putnam  reported 
promptly  to  Brother  Jonathan,  and  departed  with  his  sanction 
to  immortalize  himself  at  Bunker  Hill;  Putnam  "who  dared 
to  lead  where  any  dared  to  follow,"  hero  and  patriot,  "  whose 
generosity  was  singular,  whose  honesty  was  proverbial,"  and 
who  "  raised  himself  to  universal  esteem."  There  was  Cap 
tain  Return  J.  Meigs,  great-uncle  of  the  quartermaster  general. 
There  was  Lyon  of  Woodstock,  Sedgwick  of  Hartford,  Chester 
of  Wethersfield,  Nathaniel  Terry  of  Enfielcl,  Thomas  Knowl- 
ton  of  Ashford,  Jedediah  Huntington  of  Norwich,  Samuel  H. 
Parsons  of  Preston,  Benedict  Arnold,  then  among  the  bravest 
apostles.  There  was  Captain  Samuel  McLellan,  great-grand 
father  of  the  first  commander  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  Captain  Matthew  Grant,  of  East  Windsor,  ancestor  of 
the  hero  of  Appomattox. 

Upon  the  instant  Connecticut  accepted  her  part  in  the 
drama.  She  was  prepared.  Her  people,  accustomed  to  read 
ing  and  study,  and  to  hearing  all  the  great  problems  of  life 
discussed  from  the  weekly  pulpit,  had  annually  elected  legis 
latures  capable  of  leading  them  to  a  right  judgment.  They 
had  sent  to  the  British  ministry  their  vigorous  protest  against 
taxation  without  representation,  which  was  accepted  as  a 
courteous  and  logical  document.  They  had  kept  equal  step 
with  their  sister  colonies  in  defence  of  their  inherited  and 
chartered  rights.  They  proceeded  with  profound  and  serious 
deliberation.  It  is  related  upon  the  authority  of  the  late  Dr. 
Chauncey  Goodrich,  who  obtained  it  long  after  the  event  from 
Dr.  Nathan  Strong,  chaplain  of  the  General  Assembly,  that  in 
a  private  session,  whose  proceedings  were  never  recorded  nor 
disclosed  in  their  day,  six  men  on  a  side  were  appointed  to 
argue  the  questions  at  issue  between  the  mother  country  and 
her  colonies.  When  such  people  moved  it  was  with  an  un 
faltering  step. 

I  pause  to  look  upon  a  figure  of  the  first  prominence  in  the 


Centennial.  345 

Revolutionary  history  of  our  State.  Jonathan  Trumbull  was 
a  type  of  a  class  of  the  highest  products  of  New  England 
civilization.  The  opening  of  the  Revolution  found  him  at 
sixty-four  years  of  age,  for  six  years  previously  the  governor 
of  the  colony,  —  a  scholar,  a  gentleman,  and  a  patriot.  He 
graduated  at  Harvard  in  1727,  studied  theology,  and  took  the 
place  of  a  brother  lost  at  sea,  in  his  father's  mercantile  busi 
ness.  From  1733  to  1739  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly, 
and  finally  its  speaker.  He  was  chosen  an  assistant  in  1740, 
and  was  reflected  twenty-two  times.  He  became  judge  of 
the  county  court,  and  assistant  judge  of  the  superior  court, 
of  which  he  was  chief  judge  from  1766  to  1769.  In  1/67  and 
1768  he  was  lieutenant-governor.  In  1769  he  became  gov 
ernor  and  held  the  office  fourteen  years,  until  1783.  He  was 
among  the  earliest  of  the  Revolutionists  ;  in  1765  he  refused 
to  take  the  oath  to  support  the  Stamp  Act.  For  fifty  years  he 
served  the  Commonwealth.  He  possessed  in  harmonious  bal 
ance  all  the  qualities  of  a  noble  mind  and  soul,  carrying  the 
unmistakable  stamp  of  New  England.  He  never  faltered,  he 
never  doubted,  he  never  lacked  the  words  of  encouragement, 
of  argument,  of  irreversible  determination.  He  was  a  char 
acter  created  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  New  England 
life.  He  was  the  people's  governor  —  the  solitary  governor 
of  the  thirteen  colonies  who  embodied  revolutionary  princi 
ples,  and  led  through  the  struggle  the  people  he  had  prepared 
for  the  emergency.  To  him  General  Washington  turned  in 
every  painful  emergency.  lie  made  every  exertion  within 
human  power  to  arm  and  forward  troops,  and  supply  food  to 
a  sometimes  starving  army.  He  became  the  "  Brother  Jon 
athan  "  of  history,  whom  Connecticut  will  ever  delight  to 
honor. 

Connecticut  had  few  changes  to  make.  At  a  special  ses 
sion  of  the  General  Assembly  called  on  the  I4th  day  of  June, 
1775,  it  was  resolved  unanimously, — 

"That  the  delegates  of  this  Colony  in  General  Congress  be, 
and  they  are  hereby,  instructed  to  propose  to  that  respectable 
body,  to  declare  the  United  American  Colonies  free  and  in 
dependent  States,  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  King  of 


346  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Great  Britain,  and  to  give  the  assent  of  this  Colony  to  such 
declaration,  when  they  shall  judge  it  expedient  and  best ;  .  .  . 
and  also  that  they  move  and  promote,  as  fast  as  may  be  con 
venient,  a  regular  and  permanent  plan  of  union  and  con 
federation  of  the  Colonies  for  the  security  and  preservation  of 
their  just  rights  and  liberties,  and  for  mutual  defence  and 
security." 

The  unanimous  declaration,  it  is  observed,  and  to  the  end 
of  the  controversy,  neither  the  Assembly  nor  the  State  turned 
to  right  or  left,  or  doubted  or  faltered.  It  imposed  extraor 
dinary  taxes,  its  private  contributions  were  lavish,  and  it  sent 
to  the  war  32.000  men,  being  a  larger  proportion  than  the 
number  sent  by  any  other  State.  Such  was  the  general  ex 
cellence  of  its  civil  and  military  organization  that  its  power 
responded  with  remarkable  celerity  at  the  word  of  command. 
While  always  answering  with  all  possible  promptness  to  the 
calls  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  General  Washington, 
it  was  under  the  necessity,  during  the  whole  war,  of  keeping 
constant  watch  of  its  exposed  coast.  A  petty  and  torment 
ing  border  warfare  was  carried  on  between  our  coast  towns 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  lories  of  Long  Island  and  plunder 
ing  detachments  from  the  British  armies  and  fleets  on  the 
other.  Guard-boats  patrolled  the  shore,  beacon-fires  and 
signal-guns  were  always  in  readiness  ;  and  in  every  town 
within  a  day's  march  of  the  coast,  military  companies  were 
ready  to  march  at  the  tap  of  the  drum  to  the  water-side.  The 
war  vessels  of  the  British,  sometimes  singly,  sometimes  in 
great  fleets,  sailed  up  and  down  the  Sound  between  Newport 
and  New  York,  or  anchored  idly  in  Gardner's  Bay,  by  Fisher's 
Island,  or  off  our  seaports,  always  keeping  a  wide  region  in 
a  torture  of  expectancy.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  no  con 
siderable  engagement  ever  took  place  in  New  England  dur 
ing  that  war  out  of  hearing  and  easy  reach  of  the  coast, 
save  in  Vermont.  Experience  soon  taught  the  British  that 
whatever  was  to  be  done  in  Connecticut,  by  anything  less 
than  their  full  force,  was  to  be  done  quickly  and  near  the 
shore. 

Two  thousand  British  troops  under  Tryon,  colonial  gov 


Centennial.  347 

crnor  of  our  sister  State,  New  York,  April  25,  1777,  made 
a  famous  plundering  and  burning  raid  through  Bethel,  Ridge- 
field,  and  Danbury,  their  greatest  achievement  being  the 
slaughter  of  the  noble  patriot,  General  Wooster.  In  1778,  they 
burned  the  town  of  Fair  Haven.  July  5,  1779,  sailing  with 
a  formidable  land  and  naval  force  of  5,000  men,  they  landed 
3,000  at  East  Haven  and  West  Haven,  and  after  burning  and 
plundering  as  usual  in  New  Haven,  they  hurried  in  alarm  to 
their  vessels  with  a  loss  of  eighty  men,  inflicted  by  scattered 
militiamen  and  citizens.  On  the  8th  of  the  same  month,  they 
landed  at  Fairfield,  burning  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  build 
ings  there,  and  thirty 'at  Green's  Farms.  Three  days  after, 
they  burned  the  entire  village  of  Norwalk,  but  hurried  to  their 
vessels  with  a  loss  of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  men,  pur 
sued  by  Generals  Parsons  and  Wolcott  with  an  inferior  force, 
nearly  all  militiamen.  In  these  and  scores  of  minor  affairs 
they  learned  that  the  people  of  the  State  rallied  like  the  in 
habitants  of  a  hornet's  nest. 

Among  the  places  which  the  British  regarded  with  spe 
cial  enmity  was  this  fair  town  of  New  London.  The  people 
of  the  region  were  intensely  patriotic.  Large  masses  of  sup 
plies,  foreign  and  domestic,  were  frequently  gathered  here  ; 
and  its  noble  harbor,  able  to  supply  anchorage  and  refuge 
for  the  largest  vessels,  within  an  hour's  sail  of  the  great 
ocean,  was  the  favorite  resting-place  of  privateers,  who  scoured 
the  ocean  with  matchless  audacity  and  bravery,  and  often  with 
great  success. 

In  Green's  Gazette  of  June  3,  1779,  were  advertisements 
for  sale  at  auction  of  eight  prizes,  aggregating  eighty  guns. 
In  six  weeks  that  spring,  nine  New  York  tory  privateers 
were  captured  and  brought  into  New  London.  In  the  Court 
of  Admiralty  held  in  New  London,  June  loth,  eighteen  prizes 
were  libelled,  all  taken  in  the  month  of  May.  Among  the 
well-known  vessels,  privateers,  or  commissioned  in  the  state 
or  continental  navy,  which  were  built  in  New  London,  or 
made  it  recruiting  ground,  were  the  Spy,  the  Defence,  14 
guns,  the  Old  Defence,  the  Oliver  Cromwell,  20  guns,  the  Re 
sistance,  10  guns,  the  Governor  Trumbull,  20  guns,  built  at 


348  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Norwich;  the  Middletown,  Beaver,  Eagle,  the  Confederacy,  32 
guns,  built  on  the  Thames;  the  Putnam,  20  guns,  built  at 
New  London  ;  and  the  frigate  Trumbull,  28  guns,  built  at 
Chatham.  It  is  passing  strange  that  New  London  was  not 
struck  earlier  and  often.  It  was  within  easy  reach  of  New 
York.  It  would  have  served  as  an  excellent  rendezvous  for 
an  invasion  of  New  England,  and  at  nearly  all  times  it  was  a 
mine  for  rich  plunder.  In  the  autumn  of  1781  it  contained 
a  great  accumulation  of  captured  stores  of  all  descriptions. 

The  history  of  the  fortifications  of  New  London  harbor 
would  make  an  interesting  chapter.  William  Ledyard  was 
made  the  captain  of  Fort  Grisvvold,  July  3,  1776,  and  Captain 
Adam  Shapley  captain  of  the  old  fort  at  New  London.  Later 
Colonel  Ledyard  was  placed  in  command  of  the  post  or  dis 
trict  embracing  both  sides  of  the  river.  His  account  for  re 
building  Fort  Griswold  in  1777,  and  Fort  Trumbull  in  the  fol 
lowing  year,  and  directing  the  works  on  Town  Hill  in  1779, 
was  ordered  paid  by  the  General  Assembly  in  December, 
1780.  Fort  Trumbull,  at  the  tim«  of  the  battle,  was  merely  a 
strong  breastwork  of  three  sides,  open  in  the  rear,  mounting 
twelve  1 8  pounders  and  three  6  pounders,  but  Captain  Shap- 
ley's  garrison  numbered  only  twenty-three.  The  fort  on 
the  summit  of  Town  Hill,  known  to  the  Americans  as  Fort 
Nonsense,  mounted  six  guns.  Fort  Griswold,  where  we  stand, 
occupying  a  most  noble  and  commanding  position,  was  a 
much  more  formidable  work.  Though  it  has  been  repaired 
and  somewhat  changed,  its  general  character  can  well  be 
judged  from  what  you  see  of  it  to-day.  Stephen  Hemp- 
stead's  narrative  furnishes  the  only  description  on  record  of 
the  fort  as  it  stood  on  the  day  of  the  battle. 

"The  fort  was  an  oblong  square,  with  bastions  at  opposite 
angles,  its  longest  side  fronting  the  river  in  a  northwest  and 
southeast  direction.  Its  walls  were  of  stone,  and  were  ten  or 
twelve  feet  high  on  the  lower  side,  and  surrounded  by  a  ditch. 
On  the  wall  were  pickets,  projecting  over  twelve  feet ;  above 
this  was  a  parapet  with  embrasures,  and  within  a  platform  for 
cannon,  and  a  step  to  mount  upon,  to  shoot  over  the  parapet 
with  small  arms.  In  the  southwest  bastion  was  a  flag-staff, 


Centennial.  349 

and  in  the  side,  near  the  opposite  angle,  was  the  gate,  in  front 
of  which  was  a  triangular  breastwork  to  protect  the  gate  ; 
and  to  the  right  of  this  was  a  redoubt,  with  a  3  pounder  in 
it,  which  was  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  from  the 
gate.  Between  the  fort  and  the  river  was  another  battery, 
with  a  covered  way,  but  which  could  not  be  used  in  this  at 
tack,  as  the  enemy  appeared  in  a  different  quarter." 

Its  armament  consisted  of  one  18  pounder,  seventeen  12 
pounders,  two  9  pounders,  seven  6  pounders,  and  six  4  pound 
ers  ;  a  total  of  33  guns.  One  of  the  6  pounders  was  mounted 
in  the  redan  covering  the  gateway.  One  of  the  3  pounders 
was  in  the  little  redoubt  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  from 
the  gate.  How  many  pieces  were  in  the  battery  clown  the 
hill  to  the  westward  does  not  appear,  nor  indeed  is  it  material, 
for  there  were  but  155  men,  according  to  the  report  of  Or 
derly  Sergeant  Avery,  in  the  works  when  the  fight  opened, 
and  the  large  majority  of  these  were  not  of  the  regular  gar 
rison,  but  militiamen,  continental  soldiers  and  citizens  of  all 
ranks  and  ages,  and  little  training  as  artillerists.  Colonel 
Ledyard  wrote  to  Governor  Trumbull,  December  i,  1778: 
"  I  find,  the  more  I  am  acquainted  with  the  duty  belonging 
to  a  fortification,  the  more  I  see  the  necessity  of  having 
proper  soldiers  to  garrison  them."  And  again  :  "  I  beg  your 
excellency  will  forgive  me  when  I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that 
fortifications  are  of  but  very  little  consequence  if  they  are  to 
be  defended  only  by  inexperienced  troops." 

Let  me  briefly  sketch  the  general  relations  of  the  British 
and  American  forces  during  the  summer  of  1781.  In  May, 
Cornwallis  came  up  from  his  disastrous  campaign  in  North 
Carolina  and  joined  the  forces  under  the  traitor  Arnold,  who 
had  just  succeeded  to  the  command.  The  latter  was  soon  re 
called  by  Clinton.  Lafayette  had  been  sent  down  with  1,200 
men  to  defeat  Arnold,  and,  if  possible,  catch  and  hang  him. 
The  Marquis  was  joined  by  Steuben  and  Wayne,  and  with 
some  militia  had  about  4,000  troops.  About  the  ist  of  Au 
gust  Cornwallis  went  to  Yorktown,  intending  to  establish 
there  a  permanent  post.  So  confident  was  he  that  he  could 
hold  his  oosition  against  Lafayette  that  he  wrote,  August 


35O  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

22d,  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  at  New  York,  offering  to  send  him 
1,000  or  1,200  men  to  assist  in  defending  that  city  against  the 
expected  attack  by  the  combined  American  and  French  forces 
under  Washington  and  Rochambeau.  Let  us  see  what  were 
Washington's  plans. 

In  May,  ignorant  that  Cornwallis  had  come  up  to  Virginia, 
but  having  heard  to  his  great  joy  that  the  Count  De  Grasse 
had  sailed  from  France  for  the  West  Indies,  and  would  bring 
twelve  ships  to  Newport,  Washington  met  Rochambeau  for 
conference  at  Wethersfield,  May  22,  hospitable  entertain 
ment  during  the  journey  being  provided  by  the  General  As 
sembly,  and  as  the  British  controlled  the  sea  and  a  march  by 
land  to  the  Carolinas  would  be  impracticable,  they  decided  to 
strike  at  New  York.  The  French  were  ordered  to  march 
from  Newport  to  the  Hudson  as  soon  as  possible,  and  the 
Count  De  Grasse  would  cooperate  upon  their  arrival.  The 
reconnoissances  of  Washington  were  so  vigorous  that  Clin 
ton  wrote  July  26th  to  Cornwallis  ordering  three  regiments 
to  New  York.  But  early  in  August  Washington  received 
the  delightful  news  that  the  Count  De  Grasse  would  leave  St. 
Domingo  August  y\,  with  twenty-five  or  thirty  ships  of  the 
line  and  a  considerable  body  of  land  forces,  and  steer  imme 
diately  for  the  Chesapeake.  August  151)1,  Washington  wrote 
Lafayette  to  take  all  possible  pains  to  keep  Cornwallis  from 
retreating  to  North  Carolina.  A  fortnight  before,  Cornwallis 
had  assisted  in  this  by  changing  post  from  Portsmouth  to 
Yorktown,  so  that  the  Count  De  Grasse  could  patrol  the 
York  and  James  rivers,  and  Lafayette  could  watch  him  on 
the  landward  side.  "  You  shall  hear  further  from  me,"  said 
Washington.  His  whole  plan  was  changed.  He  would  take 
Rochambeau  and  all  the  American  troops  that  could  be 
spared,  keep  Clinton  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  New  York, 
get  a  good  start  secretly  for  Virginia  and  crush  Cornwallis. 
He  did  it.  He  appeared  to  concentrate  his  forces  up  the 
Hudson,  but  August  25th  they  moved  rapidly  into  the  Jer 
seys.  They  reached  the  Delaware  before  Clinton  guessed  their 
true  destination.  September  2d  they  entered  Philadelphia. 
It  seems  to  be  agreed  that  Clinton  concluded,  about  Septem- 


Centennial.  351 

bcr  ist,  that  Washington  was  on  his  way  to  Virginia.  Now 
Clinton's  narrative  says  :  — 

"  Early  in  September,  to  my  great  surprise  (for  I  still  con 
sidered  our  fleet  as  superior),  hearing  that  Mr.  Washington 
was  marching  southward,  I  called  a  council  of  all  the  general 
officers,  who  unanimously  concurred  with  me  in  opinion  that 
the  only  way  to  succor  Earl  Cornwallis  was  to  go  to  him  in 
the  Chesapeake." 

See  how  the  game  closed  upon  the  British.  August  28th, 
several  days  before  this  council,  the  Count  de  Grasse  had  en 
tered  the  Chesapeake  and  begun  to  land  3,000  troops. 

Did  Clinton  send  to  New  London  with  a  view  to  checking 
Washington's  march  to  Virginia?  That  is  the  common  view, 
but  I  seriously  doubt  it.  I  think  he  reports  that  on  the  2d  he 
was  not  certain  of  the  change  in  Washington's  plans.  On  the 
6th  he  wrote  that  it  was  no  longer  a  secret,  and  that  he  was 
embarking  4,000  troops  for  Cornwallis.  It  must  have  taken 
two  or  three  days  to  prepare  the  New  London  expedition. 
The  fleet  was  seen  off  Stamford  on  the  4th.  I  think  that 
Clinton  had  ordered  the  movement  while  he  supposed  Wash 
ington  and  Rochambeau,  who  were  rapidly  moving  southward 
from  the  Hudson,  were  meditating  some  operation  against 
Staten  Island  and  New  York.  He  perhaps  thought  he  would 
at  least  check  the  despatch  of  the  reinforcements  from  Con 
necticut  and  New  England  generally.  He  could  hardly  have 
expected  to  even  delay  Washington,  if  he  had  believed  the 
latter  to  be  on  his  way  to  Virginia. 

The  tory  Judge,  Jones  (vol.  ii.  p.  208),  says  :  — 

"This  plundering  expedition  (Arnold's)  was  a  project  of 
Smith's,  if  the  letters  from  New  York  are  to  be  depended 
upon.  '  It  was,'  says  one  of  them,  '  planned,  and  the  execu 
tion  of  it  warmly  solicited  by  Mr.  Smith,  the  chief  justice  of 
New  York,  who  has  gained  great  credit  by  its  success,  and  is 
a  convincing  proof  of  his  loyalty  and  attachment  to  his  sover 
eign,  though  an  American.'  "  1 

1  For  this  view  of  the  motive  of  the  New  London  expedition,  I  am 
largely  indebted  to  I'rof.  Henry  P.  Johnston,  of  the  College  of  the  City  of 
New  York.  — J.  R.  H. 


352  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

It  is  most  probable  that  the  motives  were  several.  Arnold 
had  been  sent  to  Virginia,  where  he  burned  a  large  part  of 
Richmond,  and  displayed  his  usual  vigor.  He  was  recalled 
about  June  first,  and  it  is  known  that  he  desired  to  command 
a  movement  up  the  river  to  take  West  Point.  The  concen 
tration  of  our  armies  on  the  Hudson  prevented  that.  It  had 
been  the  intention  of  Tryon's  expedition  in  1779,  against  New 
Haven,  Fairfield,  and  Norvvalk,  to  embrace  New  London  also, 
but  Wayne's  splendid  capture  of  Stony  Point  made  the  diver 
sion  change  sides.  Now  in  August,  1781,  Arnold  was  idle 
and  impatient.  The  tories  hated  New  London.  Clinton 
rightly  regarded  it  as  a  dangerous  place.  It  contained  at  that 
moment  a  great  store  of  supplies.  The  merchant  ship  Hannah 
had  just  been  brought  in  there,  a  prize  worth  $400,000,  and 
undoubtedly  to  the  great  damage  of  many  New  York  city 
tories.  Doubtless  all  these  considerations  combined,  and 
Arnold  was  at  hand,  a  fit  instrument  for  a  work  of  malignant 
destruction  never  sought  by  true  soldiers  save  under  impera 
tive  necessity. 

The  reflection  of  a  hundred  years  has  confirmed  all  the 
severity  of  the  condemnation  of  his  time.  He  was  a  brave 
and  brilliant  soldier.  On  Lake  Champlain,  at  Quebec  (se 
verely  wounded),  atBemis  Heights  (wounded),  and  elsewhere, 
he  displayed  great  skill  and  most  impetuous  daring.  He 
lacked  the  highest  qualities  of  the  true  soldier,  for  the  trials 
of  war  are  not  always  before  the  cannon's  mouth.  The  rival 
ries,  the  not  infrequent  injustice,  the  harsh  changes  that  can 
not  regard  one  man's  sensibilities,  the  unwisdom  of  the  civil 
power,  sometimes  the  gross  blunders  or  wicked  malice  of  supe 
riors,  —  these  prove  the  metal  of  the  patriot.  Vindictive, 
supremely  selfish,  recklessly  and  dishonestly  extravagant  in 
his  expenses  and  speculations,  reprimanded  when  he  might 
have  been  cashiered  for  the  improper  conversion  of  captured 
property,  he  attempted  the  murder  of  the  infant  Republic, 
and  became  the  most  shameless  traitor  since  Judas.  It  was 
a  sort  of  poetic  retribution  that  sent  him  to  the  infinitely  hu 
miliating  work  of  harrying  the  coast  of  his  State,  among  his 
old  friends  and  neighbors,  —  Norwich,  his  birthplace,  within 


Centennial.  353 

hearing  of  his  guns,  within  sight  of  the  smoke  of  his  unholy 
fires.  His  boasted  success  must  have  added  to  his  remorseful 
memories.  He  professed  to  regret  the  unnecessary  destruc 
tion  of  property  and  the  unexpected  loss  of  life.  He  lied  when 
he  said  his  troops  found  eighty  dead  bodies  in  Fort  Grisvvold, 
for  he  lacked  courage  to  tell  the  truth.  Lafayette  in  Vir 
ginia  refused  to  receive  an  official  communication  from  him. 
Washington  sought  opportunities  to  catch  him  for  the  gal 
lows,  and  instructed  Lafayette  to  let  nothing  stand  in  the  way 
of  summary  punishment  if  Arnold  should  be  captured  in  Vir 
ginia.  Clinton  and  Cornwallis  despised  him.  After  Arnold's 
crossing  to  Great  Britain,  Sherburne,  secretary  of  state  for 
the  colonies,  refused  to  let  him  return  to  service  here.  And 
hereabouts  in  many  burial  grounds  memorial  stones  record, 
"  Slain  by  Traitor  Arnold's  murdering  corps." 

The  hostile  fleet  of  thirty-two  transports  and  vessels  of  war 
appeared  in  the  Sound  September  4th,  Captain  Beazley,  in  the 
Amphion,  commanding  the  naval  forces,  and  Arnold  the  troops. 
At  two  p.  M.  on  the  5th,  it  came  to  anchor  thirty  miles  from  New 
London,  across  the  Sound  and  under  the  Long  Island  shore, 
waiting  for  the  darkness.  At  seven  p.  M.  the  fleet  weighed 
anchor,  expecting  to  make  New  London  in  time  to  land  at  or 
before  daylight.  But  the  winds. that  in  peaceful  summer  and 
autumn  days  usually  blow  daily  from  the  south  and  west  from 
noon  to  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  after  a  short  rest 
they  come  from  the  north  or  west,  this  night  of  September 
5th  graciously  failed  in  the  south,  and  began  from  the  north 
two  hours  earlier  than  their  wont,  so  that  the  fleet  by  beating 
was  only  able  to  land  the  forces  about  nine  o'clock,  or,  accord 
ing  to  Arnold's  report,  about  ten  o'clock.  They  were  observed 
at  three  o'clock ;  Sergeant  Avery,  at  Fort  Griswold,  reports 
he  called  William  Latham,  captain  of  the  fort,  who  sent  word 
to  Colonel  Leclyard,  commander  of  the  district,  who  ordered 
two  guns  fired,  the  signal  of  alarm.  Tradition  says  that  the 
British  immediately  added  a  third,  and  the  country  around  sup 
posed  only  that  some  successful  and  proud  privateer  had  come 
in.  Ledyard  sent  swift  expresses  to  the  neighboring  towns, 
and  a  horseman  galloped  away  to  tell  Brother  Jonathan.  Some 
23 


354  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

towns  went  leisurely  on  with  their  work.  They  had  heard  the 
story  for  six  years  and  were  altogether  incredulous.  Some 
men  came  late  and  stayed  out  of  a  hopeless  fight,  entreating 
Ledyard  to  make  it  a  stone  wall  and  hedge  fight,  after  the 
manner  of  Lexington,  Concord,  Danbury,  Norwalk,  and  New 
Haven.  Many  of  the  bravest  and  most  experienced  were 
away  with  Washington  or  Lafayette,  or  up  the  Hudson  with 
Heath.  Others  were  on  the  vessels  in  the  river  or  the  wild 
privateers  at  sea.  But  a  braver  body  of  old  men  and  boys 
never  assembled  at  random.  As  Ledyard,  forty-three  years 
of  age,  steady  and  true  patriot,  gallant  gentleman  and  true 
soldier,  as  his  seventy-five  letters  to  Governor  Trumbull,  his 
long  service  and  his  glorious  work  this  day  showed,  stepped 
into  the  boat  to  cross  from  New  London,  after  giving  all 
possible  instructions,  he  said  to  his  friends  :  "  If  I  must  to 
day  lose  honor  or  life,  you  who  know  me  well  can  tell  which 
it  will  be."  He  was  placed  there  to  command  and  defend. 
He  could  understand  nothing  else.  He  knew  well  how  little 
his  straggling  troops  knew  of  artillery.  He  had  reported 
all  his  needs  many  a  time.  The  present  duty  was  compara 
tively  simple.  He  took  his  post,  greeted  his  old  friends  and 
neighbors,  among  them  twenty  of  his  own  kinsmen,  loaded  his 
guns  and  waited. 

Now  let  us  stand  with  him  and  look  about  us.  It  was  a 
warm,  sunny  September  day.  The  gentle  wind  was  dying  to 
a  calm  soon  to  change  and  let  some  of  our  vessels  run  up  the 
river.  At  such  a  moment,  just  as  the  satanic  thundering  and 
screeching  of  great  guns,  and  the  positive  relief  of  the  wild 
hurrah  and  charge  are  expected  every  moment,  many  of  my 
hearers  know  how  strange  it  seems  that  the  sun  will  shine  so 
charmingly,  the  soft  winds  kiss  the  cheek  so  gently,  the  birds 
and  insects  twitter  and  hum  so  unconcernedly,  that  all  nature 
seems  cruelly  careless  about  this  terrible  business. 

Behind  us,  over  the  walls,  one  sometimes  catches  a  glimpse 
of  a  peering  face,  or  from  a  window  in  the  straggling  village 
some  dear  woman  takes  the  handkerchief  from  her  eyes  long 
enough  to  wave  it  towards  one  whose  answering  salute  she 
hopes  to  catch. 


Centennial.  355 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  fleet  gathered  in  two  divis 
ions,  the  fighting  ships  in  front.  Arnold  landed  near  the 
light-house,  about  three  miles  below  the  city.  He  led  the 
4Oth  regiment,  Sir  Robert  Pigot's,  the  loyal  Americans,  com 
manded  by  the  tory,  Colonel  Beverly  Robinson,  the  Amer 
ican  legion  of  refugees,  —  a  band  of  120  Jersey  tories  under 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Upham,  —  and  a  detachment  of  sixty  Ya 
gers,  or  Hessian  light  infantry,  the  whole  numbering  some 
eight  or  nine  hundred  men.  He  marched  rapidly  up  the 
Town  Hill  road.  Arriving  at  the  cross  road  leading  down 
to  the  shore,  Arnold  detached  Captain  Millet  of  the  38th, 
with  four  companies,  who  were  joined  by  Captain  Frink  and 
a  company  of  refugees  coming  up  nearer  the  shore.  Brave 
Shapley  with  his  twenty-three  men  fired  one  volley,  spiked  the 
guns,  and,  obeying  Ledyard's  orders,  took  boats  for  the  Gro- 
ton  side.  The  enemy  reached  them  with  muskets,  wounded 
seven  men,  and  captured  one  boat.  Shapley  found  a  soldier's 
death  on  the  hill. 

Arnold  pushed  on  to  Fort  Folly,  which  he  entered  against 
a  scattering  fire  from  citizen  skirmishers.  He  detached  Lieu 
tenant  Colonel  Upham  to  hold  "the  hili  north  of  the  meeting 
house,"  and  here  is  the  first  record  of  a  voice  from  Fort 
Griswold.  Ledyard  gave  the  word,  and  an  eighteen  pound 
shot  struck  up  the  dust  on  Town  Hill.  Upham  says  he  was 
exposed  to  a  constant  fire  until  the  fort  was  taken. 

All  the  long  and  dreadful  morning  the  watchers  at  Fort 
Griswold  could  see  the  terrified  women  and  children  stream 
ing  northward  from  the  town,  carrying  their  household  goods 
and  gods  as  best  they  might  to  the  fields  and  farm-houses  of 
the  country. 

Look  to  the  east,  or  Groton  side  of  the  river's  mouth.  Com 
manded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Eyre  of  the  54th,  there  landed 
the  54th  regiment,  the  4Oth,  Major  Montgomery,  the  3d  bat 
talion  of  New  Jersey  volunteers,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Buskirk 
commanding,  with  a  detachment  of  Yagers  and  artillery.  The 
work  was  done  by  the  two  British  regiments.  Buskirk' s  com 
mand  of  tories,  Hessians,  and  artillery,  with  their  howitzer, 
being  retarded  by  copses,  ledges,  and  ravines,  or  cowardice, 


356  Battle  of  Grolon  Heights. 

until  the  fort  was  taken.  This  division  numbered  about 
eight  hundred. 

As  he  passed  Fort  Trumbull,  Arnold  sent  a  staff  officer 
across  to  hurry  Colonel  Eyre.  He  saw,  as  he  reports,  that 
the  Americans  were  taking  advantage  of  the  southerly  breeze 
and  taking  all  their  vessels,  that  had  sails  bent,  up  the  river 
out  of  reach,  though  he  turned  the  guns  of  Fort  Trumbull 
upon  them.  We  have  the  day's  work  well  begun.  Fort 
Trumbull  was  turning  its  battery  up  the  river,  and  also  essay 
ing  in  vain  to  reach  Fort  Griswold.  Ledyard  was  easily  and 
rapidly  throwing  shot  into  Fort  Trumbull  and  upon  Town 
Hill.  Arnold  had  reached  the  hill  and  turned  a  six  pounder 
upon  the  escaping  vessels.  Seeing  that  he  was  losing  the 
vessels,  and  observing  by  the  aid  of  his  glass  and  the  shot 
that  came  his  way  that  Fort  Griswold  was  "  much  more  for 
midable  "  than  he  expected,  from  the  information  he  had  re 
ceived,  he  sent  another  officer  to  countermand  the  order  to 
assault,  but  it  was  too  late.  Colonel  Eyre  had  summoned  the 
fort  to  surrender. 

Arnold  hastened  to  his  work  of  destruction.  His  troops 
entered  the  town  from  the  north  and  south  end.  There  was 
a  pretence  of  burning  only  stores  and  public  property,  but  it 
was  a  farce.  Ten  or  twelve  ships,  lumber,  wharves,  rigging, 
barns,  warehouses,  jail,  court-house,  and  church  were  in 
flames,  and  a  drunken  soldiery  revelled  in  rum  and  plunder, 
while  Arnold  sat  upon  his  horse  near  the  meeting-house  on 
the  hill  and  watched  the  fierce  fight  on  Groton  Hill.  One 
hundred  and  forty-three  buildings  were  consumed.  Five  of 
the  enemy  were  killed  and  twenty  wounded  by  the  militiamen 
and  volunteers  fighting  at  random,  and  for  their  lack  of  organ 
ization  several  officers  were  justly  cashiered  afterward.  Four 
Americans  were  killed  and  twelve  wounded,  none  mortally. 
Arnold's  personal  share  of  the  work  was  done,  and  it  re 
mained  for  him  but  to  marshal  his  troops  to  their  boats  and 
take  a  last  look  at  his  native  county. 

The  fire  of  the  fort  upon  the  advancing  enemy  far  down  the 
hill  had  been  unavailing,  owing  to  the  irregularities  of  the 
ground.  Colonel  Eyre  brought  his  men  to  a  forest  half  a 


Centennial.  357 

mile  distant,  whence  they  ran  forward  in  broken  ranks  to  the 
shelter  of  the  rocky  height  130  yards  from  the  fort,  near 
the  present  burial-ground.  Major  Montgomery  took  similar 
shelter  a  short  distance  northeast  of  Eyre.  About  noon  Eyre 
sent  a  flag  demanding  an  unconditional  surrender.  Led- 
yard's  officers  all  sustained  him  in  answering  no.  Captains 
Elijah  Avery,  Amos  Stanton,  and  John  Williams  carried  the 
answer  which  was  their  own  death-warrant.  A  second  sum 
mons  added  that  if  the  British  were  obliged  to  storm  the 
works  they  should  put  martial  law  in  full  force.  Captain 
Shapley  carried  the  reply,  "  We  shall  not  give  up  the  fort  to 
them  be  the  consequences  what  they  may."  The  magnificent 
obstinacy  of  these  men  is  amazing.  True,  they  believed  in 
their  countrymen  and  knew  that  a  few  hours  might  bring 
overwhelming  forces  to  their  support.  But  the  assault  was 
imminent  in  five  minutes.  The  speculator  in  the  game  of 
war,  the  theorist,  might  have  told  them  that  against  600  vet 
eran  soldiers,  on  such  ground  of  advantageous  approach,  their 
cause  was  hopeless.  I  am  aware  that  veteran  troops  know 
when  to  run  and  rally  and  when  to  surrender.  But  these 
consecrated  men  were  set  apart  for  a  noble  purpose.  They 
might  have  run  away  at  sight  of  the  enemy's  numbers  or  have' 
surrendered  at  the  summons,  and  the  world  could  scarcely 
have  blamed  them.  But  had  they  done  so  there  would  have 
been  no  monument  here.  To  die,  then  and  there,  as  they  did, 
was  to  sound  a  trumpet  to  all  America,  and  write  a  lesson  for 
the  centuries. 

Colonel  Eyre  put  both  regiments  in  motion,  advancing  in 
solid  column,  Sergeant  Avery  says.  There  was  a  moment  of 
suspense.  When  they  reached  open,  level  ground,  Ledyard 
gave  the  word  and  an  eighteen  pounder,  double  shotted  with 
grape,  cleared  a  wide  space.  The  British  broke  into  a  scat 
tered  skirmishing  order,  and  advanced  at  the  double  quick, 
bearing  away  to  the  southern  and  western  sides  of  the  fort. 
Every  man  of  the  desperate  little  garrison  worked  at  will  and 
with  a  will.  The  British  were  tried  veterans.  Colonel  Eyre 
fell  seriously  wounded.  Major  Montgomery  took  the  4Oth 
around  to  the  north  until  they  came  eastward  of  the  redoubt 


358  Battle  of  Grot  on  Heights. 

east  of  the  fort,  and  entered  it  from  the  further  side.  Thence 
they  emerged,  charging  upon  the  fort,  but  scattering  along 
the  east  and  north  fronts.  Fort  Griswold  was  surrounded  by 
near  600  old  soldiers,  watching  every  head  that  rose  above  the 
parapet  to  load  a  gun  or  fire  a  musket.  Major  Montgomery 
valiantly  led  his  men  to  the  ditch,  and  was  entering  the  work 
when  he  fell  dead,  thrust  through  with  a  spear.  The  fight 
aged  furiously.  Said  Lieutenant  Avery  to  his  son  of  seven 
teen  years,  "  Tom,  my  son,  do  your  duty."  "  Never  fear, 
father,"  said  the  hoy,  and  fell.  "'Tis  a  good  cause,"  said  the 
father,  as  he  proceeded  with  his  duty.  Montgomery's  men 
rushed  to  avenge  him.  A  soldier  broke  open  the  gate  and 
was  shot  dead.  On  every  side,  four  or  five  to  one,  the  enemy 
were  breaking  the  pickets  down,  shooting  the  defenders, 
clambering  up  the  wall.  There  was  no  time  to  load,  and  our 
men  dashed,  down  solid  shot  upon  their  heads.  The  flag  had 
been  shot  down  and  the  enemy  cheered  it  as  a  surrender.  It 
was  raised  again.  They  swarmed  into  the  northeast  bastion 
They  broke  down  the  gate.  The  day  was  lost.  Colonel  Led 
yard  ordered  his  men  to  throw  down  their  arms  and  shouted 
a  surrender.  The  enemy  continued  to  fire  from  the  parapet 
upon  all,  armed  or  unarmed,  well  or  wounded,  and  advanced 
toward  the  southwest  bastion,  where  for  a  few  moments 
Shapley  and  his  friends  were  ignorant  of  the  surrender. 
They  were  torn  by  a  discharge  from  one  of  our  cannon  ;  they 
were  beaten  down ;  they  surrendered.  Eyre  s  men  came 
swarming  in  over  the  southwest  bastion.  As  Montgomery's 
4Oth  came  in  on  the  north,  Colonel  Ledyard  advanced  to 
meet  Major  Bromfield  who  now  led  them.  "  Who  commands 
this  fort  ? "  "  I  did,  but  you  do  now,"  said  Ledyard,  ex 
tending  his  sword.  In  a  moment  Ledyard  lay  dead,  thrust 
through  and  through.  See  his  vestments  and  the  cruel  rent 
therein,  here  to  witness  to  this  day  !  From  that  moment  a 
new  horror  came  down  on  the  field,  a  black  cloud  of  awful 
shame  and  crime.  Honorable  warfare  fled  and  hell  reigned. 
Sergeant  Avery  was  three  times  wounded  with  a  bayonet. 
Captain  William  Seymour,  a  volunteer  from  Hartford,  nephew 
of  Ledyard,  bearing  a  shattered  knee,  received  thirteen  bay- 


Centennial.  359 

onet  wounds.  Insane  men  fired  into  the  wounded  sheltered 
in  the  magazine.  Bromfield  cried,  "  Stop,  or  you  '11  send  us 
all  to  hell."  Ensign  Woodmancy  was  gashed  with  a  cutlass 
as  he  lay  wounded  on  the  ground  partly  sheltered  by  a  plat 
form.  Lieutenant  Parke  Avery  lost  an  eye,  had  some  of  his 
brains  torn  out,  and  was  bayoneted  as  he  lay  bleeding.  A 
British  officer  ran  from  side  to  side  crying,  "  Stop,  stop,  in 
the  name  of  Heaven,  stop.  My  soul  can't  bear  it." 

The  slaughter  ceased.  Not  more  than  thirty  of  the  garri 
son  were  hurt  before  the  enemy  reached  the  crest  of  the  par 
apet.  Eighty-five  of  the  garrison  were  now  dead.  They  and 
the  wounded  were  alike  stripped  until  they  were  nearly  naked. 
Thirty-five,  more  or  less  dangerously  wounded,  were  paroled. 
The  remaining  thirty-five,  mostly  wounded,  were  carried  away 
as  prisoners.  The  killed  and  wounded  must  have  been  140 
of  the  155.  But  the  loss  was  not  upon  one  side.  The 
brave  patriots  inflicted  heavy  losses  before  the  fort  was  en 
tered,  and  when  hope  vanished  many  of  them  renewed  the 
fight  with  a  wild  and  desperate  valor.  Arnold  officially  re 
ported  196  killed  and  wounded.  If  twenty-five  of  these  suf 
fered  in  his  division,  the  British  loss  in  Groton  must  have 
been  170,  that  is  thirty  more  than  the  American  loss  and 
fifteen  more  than  the  total  of  our  garrison.  The  enemy 
burned  nineteen  buildings  at  Groton  in  the  afternoon.  They 
shamefully  treated,  grossly  neglected,  or  most  rudely  handled 
our  wounded.  I  spare  you  the  authentic  recorded  details  of 
the  barbarities  that  followed  the  cessation  of  actual  slaughter. 
Your  laborious  and  conscientious  historians,  Miss  Caulkins 
and  William  W.  Harris,  have  left  nothing  to  be  gleaned  locally 
and  but  little  from  any  source. 

I  leave  open  the  question  who  killed  Ledyard,  though  I 
think  the  foul  crime  is  chargeable  to  Bromfield.  I  care  little 
to  discuss  it.  Some  of  the  British  officers  knew  the  guilty 
man.  They  did  not  punish  him  even  by  the  shame  of  pub 
licity.  Let  them  then  share  the  dishonor. 

The  two  great  nations  are  friends.  Their  common  lan 
guage,  laws,  history,  religion,  and  civilization  compel  them  to 
march  abreast  in  the  world's  work.  The  common  fame  and 


360  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

power  of  the  English-speaking  people  grows  and  spreads  a 
wider  sway  from  year  to  year.  Ebenezer  Ledyard,  brother  of 
the  immortal  colonel,  was  taken  prisoner,  as  a  hostage,  to  New 
York.  He  fell  under  the  care,  finally,  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton, 
successor  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  To  a  son,  born  six  years 
after,  he  gave  the  name  Guy  Carleton.  If  a  Ledyard  could 
thus  grasp  hands,  we  all  can  meet  with  the  "courtesy  that 
befits  ancient  foes  turned  friends." 

No  :  we  come  here  with  no  mouldy  griefs  nor  revenges. 
We  are  here  to  worship  courage,  honor  freedom  ;  to  salute 
the  names  of  the  glorious  dead  of  our  State  and  blood  and 
faith,  who  set  this  example  before  the  generations  of  fresh, 
opened-eyed  lads,  who  are  to  have  the  defence  of  a  land  of 
immeasurable  greatness. 

See  the  illustrious  roll.  Fourteen  of  the  dead  and  three  of 
the  wounded  bore  the  title  of  captain.  Eleven  bore  the  name 
of  Avery,  six  the  name  of  Perkins.  Daniel  Williams,  of  Say- 
brook,  died  there  at  the  age  of  fifteen  ;  Thomas  Avery  at  six 
teen  ;  Belton  Allyn  at  seventeen  ;  Thomas  Starr,  Jr.,  at  eight 
een  ;  E.  Perkins  at  sixty-four  ;  Thomas  Williams  at  sixty;  and 
James  Comstock  at  seventy-five.  It  is  averred  that  sixty  of 
the  dead  and  wounded  were  members  of  the  Congregational 
churches  of  Groton  and  New  London. 

I  congratulate  you  of  these  beautiful  and  now  peaceful 
towns  upon  your  remembrance  of  this  day.  I  congratulate 
many  of  you  upon  the  names  you  bear  and  the  ancestry  of 
whom  you  are  proud.  We  join  in  reverential  salute  to  the 
dead,  in  the  New  England  spirit  that  placed  upon  yonder  col 
umn  "  Zebulon  and  Naphtali  were  a  people  that  jeoparded 
their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high  places  of  the  field." 

After  the  singing  of  "  America,"  General  W.  T.  Sherman 
rose  in  response  to  a  unanimous  call,  the  whole  audience  ris 
ing  to  cheer  him  as  he  stepped  to  the  front. 

He  asked  to  be  excused  from  attempting  a  speech,  as  he 
came  to  enjoy  the  occasion  ;  but  "  as  I  do  not  see  any  re 
porters  about  I  will  say  a  few  words." 

Alluding  to  the  orator's  claiming  him  as  almost  a  Connect- 


Centennial.  36 1 

icut  man  he  acknowledged  he  might  have  been  a  citizen  of 
old  Connecticut  but  for  General  Tryon  and  the  British  army, 
who  in  their  raid  on  Norwalk  burned  the  property  of  General 
Sherman's  grandfather  at  Norwalk,  for  which,  in  the  settle 
ment  succeeding  the  war,  he  was  given  with  others  a  tract  of 
land,  a  part  of  that  which  Connecticut  claimed  in  the  Western 
Reserve,  which  he  visited  in  1803,  and  led  to  his  father's 
emigration  in  1809.  Thus  it  was  that  the  Shermans  were 
transplanted  to  Ohio.  There  they  had  to  subdue  nature  and 
the  Indians,  as  they  had  in  Connecticut  when  she  had  exter 
minated  the  Pequots  and  appropriated  their  lands,  and  made 
no  bones  of  it,  in  which  she  was  right.  The  Pequots  did  not 
deserve  it  ;  a  few  hundreds  were  occupying  the  land  now  filled 
with  thousands  of  prosperous  farms,  and  hundreds  of  cities, 
towns,  and  villages  with  their  increased  population  of  better 
people.  The  Indian  must  make  room  for  the  white  man,  move 
away  ahead  of  him,  or  learn  his  ways  and  settle  down  beside 
him,  else  a  war  of  extermination  must  follow.  Ohio  was  the 
hunting-ground  of  similar  savages,  and  he  wished  some  rev 
erend  gentlemen  would  tell  him  whether  it  was  better  that  it 
should  have  been  left  to  such  purposes  rather  than  be  made 
the  home  of  3,000,000  people  as  good  as  those  in  Connecticut. 
This  mock  philanthropy  that  would  let  Indians  destroy  our 
white  settlers  and  spare  them  from  the  sword  when  they  are 
murdering  our  race,  I  do  not  believe  in. 

He  recalled  the  treacherous  murder  of  General  Canby  by 
the  Modocs,  and  said  that  Canby  was  the  equal  in  patriotism 
and  soldierly  qualities  of  Ledyard,  whose  massacre  this  day 
commemorates.  Then  came  the  massacre  of  Custer  and  his 
troops,  not  a  soul  left  to  tell  the  tale,  yet  his  men  were  as 
brave  as  the  defenders  of  Fort  Griswold  ;  and  lastly,  the  recent 
attack  on  General  Carr  and  his  men.  They  should  not  be 
petted,  but  punished  for  their  murders  of  our  soldiers.  Fi 
nally,  the  people  of  Connecticut  should  remember  above  all 
things  when  you  criticise  sharply  and  flippantly  the  Indian 
policy  of  the  nation,  and  condemn  the  army,  that  it  was  you 
who  first  set  the  example  for  the  Indian  policy  now  pursued, 
when  you  drove  out  the  Pequots  from  these  very  lands  almost 


362  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

250  years  ago.  General  Hawley  has  justly  praised  Connect! • 
cut  so  highly  to-day  that  I  venture  one  word  of  caution.  Let 
us  never  forget  that  we  are  not  only  States  but  one  Nation, 
and  let  our  chief  pride  be  of  our  whole  country  rather  than  of 
our  native  State  ! !  ! 

In  response  to  the  popular  summons,  Hon.  John  T.  Wait, 
M.  C.,  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow-Citizens  :  The  ground  on  which 
we  stand  is  sacred.  A  hundred  years  ago  it  was  reddened 
with  the  blood  of  as  brave  a  body  of  noble  men  as  ever  gave 
their  lives  in  defence  of  their  firesides  and  their  native  land. 
In  the  early  years  of  the  century  that  is  now  concluded,  it  has 
again  and  again  been  hallowed  by  the  tears  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  illustrious  dead,  whose  patriotism  and  valor 
we  have  this  day  assembled  to  honor. 

The  tens  of  thousands  of  the  people  of  this  land,  who  have 
gathered  here  to-day,  emphatically  declare  by  their  presence 
that  the  memory  of  the  men,  who  took  part  in  the  bloody 
contest  on  these  Heights  a  hundred  years  ago,  will  ever  be 
cherished. 

It  was  not  solely  in  this  one  fierce  conflict  on  Groton 
Heights  that  the  people  of  Connecticut  showed  their  patriot 
ism,  and  their  fixed  determination  to  continue  the  struggle 
until  this  and  the  other  colonies  were  free  and  independent 
of  the  British  crown.  As  early  as  June,  1776  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  Colony  pronounced  for  independence,  and 
instructed  the  delegates  in  Congress  from  Connecticut  to 
urge  that  body  to  declare  that  the  American  Colonies  were 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain. 

As  soon  as  the  tidings  of  the  engagement  at  Lexington 
reached  Governor  Trumbull,  he  pushed  on  troops  under  the 
command  of  the  brave  old  Israel  Putnam,  to  aid  in  the  relief 
of  Boston,  until  more  than  three  thousand  Connecticut  sol 
diers,  armed,  officered,  and  drilled,  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 
with  the  men  of  Massachusetts  on  Bunker  Hill. 

When  the  city  of  New  York  was  threatened  by  the  British 
troops  and  fleet,  Governor  Trumbull  again  called  upon  the  pa- 


Centennial.  363 

triotic  sons  of  Connecticut  to  rally  under  the  colonial  banner, 
and  march  to  join  the  army  that  was  stationed  near  that  city. 
The  flower  of  our  youth  nobly  responded  to  the  call,  and  nine 
regiments  were  at  once  organized  and  led  to  the  defence  of 
the  sister  colony.  Up  to  that  time  Connecticut  could  boast 
that  she  had  furnished  and  kept  in  the  field  full  one  half  the 
army  commanded  by  Washington. 

Well  may  the  people  of  Connecticut  be  proud  of  the  part 
which  our  gallant  little  State  took  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  Her  history  during  that  protracted  and  terrible  struggle 
is  a  history  of  patriotic  and  brilliant  incidents  and  heroic 
achievements.  At  no  time  during  that  war  could  this  Colony 
number  over  forty  thousand  fighting  men  ;  but  she  mustered, 
equipped,  and  put  in  the  ranks  of  the  continental  army,  in 
the  seven  years'  struggle,  nearly  thirty-two  thousand  efficient 
soldiers.  Massachusetts  alone,  of  all  the  colonies,  sent  more 
troops  into  the  field. 

Then  Connecticut,  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  occupied  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  line  of  sister 
colonies,  for  only  she  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  having  a  chief 
magistrate  who  did  not  hold  his  place  by  direct  appointment 
of  the  British  king.  Upon  the  admirable  judgment,  reliable 
counsel,  unswerving  patriotism,  and  efficient  assistance  of 
Brother  Jonathan  of  Connecticut,  did  Washington  and  Con 
gress  rely  in  every  embarrassing  emergency. 

But  I  will  not  trespass  upon  your  time  in  further  alluding 
to  those  important  and  interesting  events  connected  with  the 
Revolutionary  struggle.  They  have  already  been  admirably 
described  in  eloquent  language  by  the  distinguished  speaker 
who  has  preceded  me,  and  by  the  eminent  statesman  who 
addressed  you  one  year  ago. 

The  valor,  the  patriotism,  and  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  men, 
who,  under  the  lead  of  the  martyr  Ledyard,  fell  on  this  ground 
a  hundred  years  ago  in  defence  of  their  families  and  their 
liberties,  are  uppermost  in  every  mind  to-day.  The  circling 
years  of  the  past  century  bring  with  them,  for  these  men,  no 
cessation  of  our  gratitude  and  our  love.  On  these  Heights, 
made  sacred  by  the  blood  of  those  who  suffered  martyrdom. 


364  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

in  order  that  their  children's  children,  in  one  unending  line, 
might  enjoy  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  the  right  of  self-gov 
ernment,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  these  patriot  dead  have 
gathered  to  commemorate  the  glorious  self-sacrifice  that  here 
was  offered  up  ;  to  show  their  respect  and  affection  for  the 
memory  and  valor  of  their  fathers  ;  and  to  pledge  themselves 
anew  to  the  preservation  of  those  principles  and  institutions 
for  the  sake  of  which  these  lives  were  freely  given.  On  the 
very  ground  where  we  now  stand  were  shown  that  chivalrous 
courage  and  heroic  spirit  which  have  made  the  ruins  of  old 
Fort  Griswold  a  sacred  shrine,  and  the  record  of  which  has 
been  written  in  characters  of  living  light  upon  the  pages  of 
history. 

As  your  representative,  it  became  my  duty  —  as  it  was  my 
pleasure  and  a  work  of  love — to  introduce  in  the  last  Con 
gress  a  bill  making  an  appropriation  to  aid  you  in  the  present 
celebration,  and  for  the  repair  of  the  Monument  that  marks 
the  spot  whereon  was  shown  the  dauntless  bravery  and  un 
yielding  heroism  of  that  devoted  band  of  Connecticut  patri 
ots,  who  perished  here  for  liberty  and  human  rights.  My  ap 
peals  to  the  committee  and  members  of  Congress,  effectively 
sustained,  as  they  were,  by  the  intelligent  presentation  of 
their  claims  for  aid  made  by  citizens  of  Groton  and  New  Lon 
don,  were  favorably  received.  The  committee  to  which  the 
bill  was  referred  reported  in  favor  of  its  passage ;  it  passed 
the  House  and  Senate  by  the  unanimous  action  of  those 
bodies,  and  received  at  once  the  approval  of  the  President. 

I  fully  believe  that  celebrations  like  this  are  of  infinite  im 
portance  to  the  State.  They  bring  vividly  before  the  minds 
of  all  the  remembrance  of  those  sacrifices  and  sufferings  by 
which  alone  the  independence  of  this  great  nation  was  se 
cured.  They  kindle  anew  in  every  heart  the  flames  of  patri 
otic  devotion,  and  strengthen  those  impulses  and  emotions 
that,  in  times  of  danger  to  the  Commonwealth,  are  its  bul 
warks  and  defences.  The  patriotism  of  the  Revolutionary 
days  still  lives  upon  this  soil.  The  sons  of  the  men  who  here 
poured  out  their  life-blood  and  made  this  spot  immortal  are 
worthy  of  their  ancestry.  "  The  fathers  need  not  blush  to 


Centennial.  365 

own  their  sons  to-day,"  for  the  names  that  shine  upon  the  list 
of  those  who  perished  in  the  deadly  struggle  at  Fort  Griswold 
were  heard  at  the  roll-calls  of  a  thousand  camps,  in  those  glo 
rious  armies  that  gathered  from  the  hill-sides  and  the  valleys 
to  suppress  rebellion,  preserve  the  Union,  and  maintain  the 
h  nor  of  the  flag.  The  wives  and  mothers  of  the  Revolu 
tion  were  not  lovelier  nor  more  patriotic  than  the  wives  and 
mothers  whose  blessings  and  whose  prayers  went  forth  with 
the  loyal  and  gallant  boys,  who,  from  these  peaceful  homes, 
passed  out  into  the  Union  army,  —  many  of  whom  "  marched 
to  their  death  as  gayly  as  to  a  bridal,  and  laid  down  smiling 
amid  the  fiery  storm." 

While  we  point  with  pride  to  the  brilliant  record  that  Con 
necticut  made  in  the  war  to  shake  off  the  British  yoke  and  win 
our  national  independence,  may  we  not  point  with  equal  pride 
to  the  splendid  services  rendered  by  her  sons  in  the  deadly 
strife  to  save  this  glorious  Union  from  disruption  ?  The  his 
toric  page  glitters  with  the  facts  that  ''  a  Connecticut  general 
with  Connecticut  regiments  opened  the  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
and  closed  it ;  and  a  Connecticut  regiment  was  marshalled  in 
front  of  the  farm-house  at  Appomattox,  when  Lee  surren 
dered  to  a  soldier  of  Connecticut  blood.  A  Connecticut  flag 
first  displaced  the  palmetto  upon  the  soil  of  South  Carolina ; 
a  Connecticut  flag  was  first  planted  in  Mississippi  ;  a  Con 
necticut  flag  was  first  unfurled  before  New  Orleans  ;  "  and 
the  deeds  of  daring  and  devotion,  exhibited  by  Connecticut 
troops  on  many  a  bloody  battle-field,  won  for  them  imperish 
able  renown. 

And  now  that  those  days  of  trial  and  of  bloodshed  have 
passed  away,  the  same  devotion  to  principle,  the  same  love 
of  justice  and  of  right,  which  filled  the  hearts  of  our  fathers 
yet  fill  our  own,  and  on  these  hill-sides  and  these  fertile  fields 
around  us  still  lives  a  people  who  are  ever  ready  to  respond 
to  the  calls  of  duty,  and  whose  pride  it  will  be  to  see  that  the 
principles  and  institutions,  for  which  they  and  their  fathers 
have  made  such  costly  sacrifices,  are  not  imperilled,  but  trans 
mitted  unimpaired  to  posterity  as  the  choicest  and  richest 
legacy  which  they  can  bequeath. 


366  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

The  authorities  who  had  called  the  two  last  speakers  now 
demanded  the  Rev.  Leonard  W.  Bacon,  of  Norwich,  who  read 
the  following  poem  :  — 

THE  LAY  OF  GROTON  HEIGHT. 

BY  LEONARD  WOOLSEY  BACON. 

The  word  went  forth  from  the  throne  : 1 

"•Desolate!  desolate  ! 
Smite,  burn,  destroy,  till  their  woes  shall  atone 

For  the  woe  and  shame  of  the  State  ! 
They  have  shamed  the  arms  of  their  king  ; 
They  have  flouted  the  terms  we  bring  ; 
High  time  that  vengeance  should  have  full  swing 
Over  small  and  great. 

"  Reap  down  their  crops  with  your  swords  1 

Harry  !  ravage  ! 
Hound  on  the  rage  of  your  hireling  hordes, 

Hessian  and  savage  ! 
Of  our  grace  -we  have  offered  them  oft 

Fair  terms  of  submission  ; 
They  have  scorned  our  words  and  scoffed 

At  reserve  and  condition. 
They  are  reaching  out  hands  to  France  ; 
They  welcome  our  foes'  advance  ; 
Go,  Clinton,  dance  those  rebels  a  dance 
To  perdition" 

So  the  blaze  of  Fairfield  flushed  the  sky  ; 

New  Haven's  smoke  went  rolling  high  ; 

Far  Norwalk  cried  with  a  bitter  cry ; 
And  the  sons  of  the  Puritan  pioneers 
Saw  the  toil  and  thrift  of  a  hundred  years 

Spoiled  in  an  hour. 

An  answering  flame 
Blazed  back  from  patriot  hearts  and  true, 

1  That  the  scenes  of  destruction  and  pillage  which  ended  at  New  London  and 
Groton  were  in  pursuance  of  a  deliberate  policy  is  seen  in  the  proclamation  to  the 
colonies  in  1778,  and  the  instructions  of  Lord  George  Germain  to  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  in  1779.  "Keep  the  coasts  of  the  enemy  constantly  alarmed.  Destroy 
their  ships  and  magazines,"  &.C.  £c.  —  L.  W.  B. 


Centennial.  367 

And  scorched  with  a  terrible  wrath  and  shame 
The  tory  and  traitor  crew. 

The  Governor's  face  grew  sad, 
In  his  store  on  Lebanon  hill, 
He  reckoned  the  men  he  had  ; 
He  counted  the  forts  to  fill ; 
He  traced  on  the  map  the  ground 

By  river,  and  harbor,  and  coast,  — 
"  Ah,  where  shall  the  men  and  the  guns  be  found 
Lest  the  State  be  lost  ?  " 

The  brave  State's  sons  were  gone ; 

On  many  a  field  they  lay ; 
They  were  following  Washington, 

Afar  down  Yorktown  way  ; 
The  men  and  the  weapons  failed, 

They  were  gone  with  our  free  good-will  ; 
But  Jonathan  Trumbull  never  quailed, 

In  his  store  on  Lebanon  hill. 

There  was  New  London  fort, 

And  the  fort  on  Groton  Height, 
And  the  rich  and  crowded  port  ; 

But  where  were  the  men  to  fight  ? 
Might  it  not  be  we  had  erred 

To  care  for  our  homes  so  ill  ? 
Nay,  never  a  word  of  such  grudge  was  heard 
On  Lebanon  hill. 

Remember,  citizens,  and 

If  ever  the  ill  thought  comes 
To  reck  less  of  the  broad,  great  land, 
And  more  of  your  own  small  homes, 
Think  of  your  fathers'  dust  ; 

Think  of  their  brave  good-will, 
And  the  Puritan  Governor's  toil  and  trust 
On  Lebanon  hill. 

Well,  at  last  drew  on  the  day, 
Dark  with  ill  omen, 


368  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Off  the  mouth  of  the  bay  — 
Flapping  their  wings  in  the  gray, 
Like  carrion  birds  —  they  lay 

The  ships  of  the  foeman. 
"  To  talk  of  defence  were  wild  ; 

We  are  plundered,  burned,  beaten,  defiled, 
They  spare  not  the  old,  nor  the  sick,  nor  the  child, 
Nor  the  woman  !  " 

Not  so  spake  Ledyard,  brave  soul, 

Our  noble  commander. 
O  History,  point,  on  your  roll, 

To  a  nobler  or  grander  ! 
He  stepped  from  his  farm-house  door, 
A  hero  like  those  of  yore. 
Oh !  fair  was  the  look  of  grace  that  he  wore 
And  of  candor  ! 

Now  briskly  he  spoke  to  his  troops  : 

Not  'a  sigh,  not  a  frown  ; 
No  thought  or  of  fears  or  of  hopes, 

But  of  honor  and  duty  alone  ; 
No  question  of  gain  or  loss. 
Only  Home  and  the  Righteous  Cause. 
So  he  signalled  the  handful  of  gunners  across 
From  the  battery  under  the  town. 

Few,  few,  in  the  big  redoubt, 

The  sons  of  the  Puritans  stood, 
And  over  the  parapet-wall  looked  out 

Beyond  the  fringe  of  the  wood  ; 
Saw  the  enemy's  blood-red  lines  uncoil 
And  wind  out  snake-like  over  the  soil  ; 

Heard  the  shrill  fifes,  piping  scorn  ; 

Saw  the  steel  flash  back  the  morn, 
And  the  cruel  cross  before  them  borne  — 
The  cross  in  a  field  of  blood  ;  — 

Looked  townward  over  the  bay ; 

Along  the  country-roads 
Saw  women  and  children  running  away 
With  bits  of  their  household  goods  ; 


Centennial.  369 

Saw  the  red-coats  and  Hessians 

Dragging  through  dust  and  mire 
The  spoil  of  their  poor  possessions ; 

And  at  last  they  saw  —  the  fire! 

And  the  Colonel,  with  glass  in  hand, 

Saw  the  hatefulest  sight  of  all : 
As  the  burying-ground  he  scanned, 

High  over  its  terrace-wall, 
He  saw  that  nameless  traitor  stand 
On  the  VVinthrops'  tomb,1  to  give  command 
For  the  deeds  that  his  own  black  heart  had  planned 
Jn  its  bitterness  and  gall. 

Did  the  stones  stir  under  his  tread? 
Did  a  cry  break  forth  from  the  dead  ? 

Did  the  Winthrops'  dust  rise  up, 
To  fling  that  sacrilege  off  the  bed, 

Where  it  slept  in  a  Christian's  hope  ? 

Was  it  a  voice  from  the  tomb  ? 

Was  it  these  scenes  of  his  youth 
That  clouded  that  shameless  brow  with  gloom  ? 

That  softened  his  heart  to  ruth  ? 
What  moved  the  mind  of  the  nameless  wretch, 
To  send  his  orders  across  to  fetch 
The  regiments  back  ? 

In  sooth 
'T  was  too  late.     The  terrible  fight 

Had  been  fought  and  lost  — 
The  brave,  brave  fight  for  the  Right, 
Here  upon  Groton  Height. 
And  O  the  cost ! 

Men  came  from  the  smouldering  town  ; 
From  the  woods  and  the  hills  came  down, 

When  the  enemy  had  crossed ; 
And  here,  in  the  autumn  weather, 
Lay  the  dead  all  tumbled  together, 

1  The  tradition  of  Arnold's  standing  during  the  fight  on  the  tomb  of  the  Win 
throps   is  demonstrably  unhistorical,  but  not  therefore  unpoetical. 

24 


37°  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Stripped  and  mangled  and  tossed. 
The  gray-haired  men  and  the  boys  were  seen 
Where  they  poured  their  blood  on  the  trampled  green, 
And  quenched  the  train  to  the  magazine. 

And  'mid  the  dead  hush,  faint  groans 
Were  heard  from  far  down  the  road,  — 
Groans  of  strong  men  in  anguish,  — 
Where  the  horrible  wagon-load, 
Heaped  with  wounds  and  with  broken  bones, 
Had  been  plunged  down  over  the  pitiless  stones, 
And  they  brutally  left  our  gallant  ones 
To  languish. 

Two-score  widows  of  Groton  town 
Walked  'mid  the  corpses  up  and  down  ; 
Turned  the  dead  faces  up  to  the  light, 
Calling,  calling  into  the  night  ; 
Listening  for  word  or  voice 
From  husband,  or  father,  or  boys  ; 

Waiting,  speaking, 
Questioning,  seeking 
Over  the  torn  sod,  reeking 

With  the  blood  of  Groton  Height. 

And  there  by  the  sally-port, 
Where  the  foe  had  entered  the  fort, 
Lay  Ledyard,  gallant  knight, 
His  bosom  gored 
By  his  own  brave  sword, 
And  his  hero-blood  on  the  ground  outpoured 
For  the  Right. 

When  the  Doxology,  "  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow,"  was  sung,  with  almost  the  fervor  and  enthusiasm  of  the 
old  war  days,  the  vast  throng  began  to  scatter,  many  to  their 
homes,  but  others  to  New  London,  to  witness  the  military 
parade  and  the  review  by  General  Sherman,  at  the  Court 
House. 

The  line  was  formed  on  State  Street,  and  marched  through 
some  of  the  principal  streets  in  the  following  order :  — 


Centennial.  371 

Carriages  containing  General  William  T.  Sherman ;  Colonel  Dodge, 
Chief  of  Staff ;  Admiral  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers,  and  the 

Hon.  Augustus  Brandegee. 
Carriage  with  His  Excellency  Governor  Hobart  B.  Bigelow,  Adjutant 

General  Harmon,  and  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Stark,  Chairman  of  the 

Reception  Committee. 
Carriage  with  ex-Lieutenant  Governor  Loomis  and  Ex-Governor 

Rice,  of  Massachusetts. 

Carriages  with  Quartermaster  General  Harbison,  Paymaster  Gen 
eral  Clapp,  Colonels  Stowbridge  and 

Russell,  aids. 

Carriage  with  Surgeon  General  Gregory,  Colonels  Rudd  and  Bar 
rows,  aids,  and  Mayor  Buckley,  of  Hartford. 

Platoon  of  Police. 

Chief  Marshal,  Col.  J.  W.  Barlow,  U.  S.  A. ;  Assistant  Marshals, 

Captain  John  Bishop,  Jr.,  Major  W.  H.  H.  Comstock, 

Major  Edward  W.  Bacon,  Thomas  A.  Miner, 

Frederick  Gallup. 

Aids,  Lieutenant  Charles  Chancy,  Lieutenant  Christoper  C.  Miner, 

Lieutenant  Hamilton  Perkins. 

Band  U.  S.  Ship  Tennessee. 

Regulars  from  Fort  Trumbull,  Lieutenant  Van  Ness. 
Battalion  of    Sailors  and  Marines  under  command  of   Lieutenant 

Commander  Horace  E.  Elmer,  Colonel  of  Battalion. 
Lieutenant   Commander    Derby,    Major  •   Lieutenant    Commander 

Washburn  Maynard,  Colonel. 

First  Company  of  Marine  Corps,  Captain  Mills. 

Second  Company,  Captain  Robinson. 

Third  Company,  Captain  Gibson. 

First  Company  of  Sailors,  Lieutenant  Haddon. 

Second  Company,  Lieutenant  Turner. 

Third  Company,  Lieutenant  Green. 

Fourth  Company,  Lieutenant  Galloway. 

Brigadier   General   Stephen   R.    Smith,    commanding   Connecticut 

National  Guard,  and  Staff. 

Third  Regiment  Band  of  New  London. 

Third  Regiment  C.  N.  G.,  Colonel  Wm.  H.  Tubbs. 

Colt's  Band  of  Hartford. 

First  Regiment  C.  N.  G.,  Colonel  Lucius  A.  Barbour. 
American  Band  of  New  Haven,  Buglers  and  Drum  Corps  of  Second 

Regiment. 


372  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Second  Regiment  C.  N.  G.,  Colonel  Chas.  P.  Graham. 
Wheeler  and  Wilson  Band  of    Bridgeport,  and    Fourth  Regiment 

Drum  Corps. 
Fourth  Regiment  C.  N.  G.,  Colonel  Geo.  S.  Crofut. 

National  Band  of  Providence. 

Providence  Veteran  Association. 

Moodus  Drum  Corps. 

Perkins  Post  G.  A.  R. 

The  procession  was  a  magnificent  display  of  the  pomp  and 
panoply  of  war,  presenting  as  it  did  the  varied  and  strongly 
contrasting  features  of  a  military  and  naval  shore  review. 
The  marines  of  the  fleet  took  their  position  in  the  van,  the 
guard  of  the  flag-ship  holding  the  right  of  the  line,  a  fine, 
handsome  company,  bravely  set  off  with  their  dark  blue  sur- 
touts,  glittering  epaulettes,  and  bright  orange  facings,  their 
countenances  florid  with  the  breath  of  the  sea-god,  and  their 
keen  eyes  glancing  beneath  the  visors  of  their  showy  Von 
Moltke  helmets.  The  guards  from  the  other  ships  wore  a 
similar  uniform,  except  the  helmet,  having  in  its  stead  the  old 
dress  chapeau  with  pompon,  shield,  and  horizontal  visor,  not 
less  imposing,  and,  perhaps  to  the  military  critic,  adding  to 
the  tout-ensemble  of  the  soldier.  Nothing  could  be  more 
perfect  than  the  discipline  of  these  gallant  soldiers  of  the  sea, 
whose  every  movement  in  the  manual  of  arms  was  executed 
with  a  precision  that  Upton  never  dreamed  of;  and  the  firm, 
steady  tread,  erect  bearing,  and  square  alignment,  had  little 
to  suggest  the  proverbial  roll  of  the  man-o'-war's-man.  The 
marines  were  greeted  with  acclamations  throughout  the  whole 
length  of  the  line  of  march,  and  well  they  merited  the  plaud 
its,  for  a  finer  body  of  men  need  not  be  desired  to  represent 
the  power  and  prestige  of  Columbia  in  foreign  waters.  Nor 
were  the  jolly  blue  jackets  behind  in  their  role  (no  pun  in 
tended),  for  they  showed  the  effects  of  thorough  training,  and 
that  machine-like  precision  which  shed  a  lustre  on  the  Amer 
ican  navy  in  the  days  that  tried  men's  souls. 

The  Connecticut  State  troops,  after  the  arduous  duties  of 
the  day,  came  to  the  review  with  unflagging  zeal.  Their 
marching  was  excellent,  and  their  evolutions,  particularly  the 


Centennial.  373 

wheels,  could  not  be  made  more  mathematically  precise.  The 
boys  marched  with  a  free,  elastic  step,  and  showed  the  amount 
of  latent  fire  that  the  enthusiastic  recollections  of  their  coun 
try's  glory  could  bring  to  the  surface.  The  review  was  indeed 
an  appropriate  and  brilliant  finale  to  a  glorious  day,  and  will 
mark  another  era  in  the  history  of  the  city  by  the  sea. 

In  the  evening  Groton  Heights  were  ablaze  with  rockets, 
mines,  bombs,  and  other  pyrotechnic  displays,  while  from  a 
platform  on  the  river  opposite  the  city  other  fireworks  seemed 
to  rise  out  of  the  ripples,  and  vie  with  the  display  from  the 
squadron  at  anchor  in  the  lower  harbor. 

When  the  last  rocket  had  sent  down  its  stick,  those  of  the 
crowd  who  could  left  by  the  late  trains,  while  the  citizens 
sought  homes,  in  which  the  owners  quite  generally  slept  on 
the  floor,  all  semblances  of  beds  being  given  up  to  the  visit 
ors  from  far  and  near,  whose  kinship  or  friendship  made  them 
welcome  guests,  whose  entertainment  was  a  pleasure. 

SEPTEMBER   7,    1881. 

This  day,  in  opposition  to  the  last,  was  clear  and  hot,  gen 
erally  dubbed  "  a  scorcher." 

The  crowds  of  the  day  before  were  gone  ;  where  there  were 
thousands  now  hardly  hundreds,  who  in  a  leisurely  manner 
visited  the  historic  points  in  New  London,  as  marked  by  the 
Historical  Committee,  and  as  noon  approached  began  to  col 
lect  on  the  Groton  side  of  the  river,  where,  at  fifteen  minutes 
before  twelve,  a  procession  was  formed,  and  moved  in  the  fol 
lowing  order : — 

Chief  Marshal  Col.  J.  W.  Barlow,  U.  S.  A. 

Assistants. 
Mystic  Band,  twenty-two  pieces.     William  Taylor,  leader. 

Moodus  Drum  Corps,  thirteen  pieces. 

Palestine  Commandery,  New  London,  fifty  men.     Eminent  Com 
mander  Philo  B.  Hovey,  Generalissimo  William  H.  Bentley, 
Captain  General  William  H.  Tubbs,  Prelate  Fred 

W.  Smith. 

Tubbs'  Band,  Norwich. 

Columbian  Commandery  No.  4,  Norwich,  fifty  men,  Eminent  Com 
mander  N.  D.  Sevin,  Generalissimo  Costello  Lippitt, 


374  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Captain  General  A.  D.  Smith,  Prelate 

John  J.  Keigwin. 

Palmyra  Encampment,  Uniform    Patriarchs,    Norwich,  forty  men, 

Captain  John  Steiner,  Lieutenants  Stephen  D.  Moore, 

A.  F.  Moore. 

The  line  was  formed  on  Thames  Street,  and  marched  to  the 
flag-staff,  up  King's  Road,  up  Prospect  Street,  thence  up  the 
road  back  of  the  Monument,  up  Fort  Street  to  the  refresh 
ment  tent,  where  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows  partook  of  a 
collation. 

Shortly  after  two  o'clock  the  Commanderies  and  Odd  Fel 
lows  returned  to  New  London,  and  marched  up  State  to  Main 
Street,  up  Federal  to  Huntington,  down  State,  and  dismissed. 
At  the  court  house  the  procession  passed  in  review  before 
Right  Eminent  Grand  Commander  N.  J.  Welton,  of  Water- 
bury  ;  Acting  Deputy  Grand  Commander  Daniel  Calkins,  of 
East  Lyme ;  Acting  Grand  Generalissimo  C.  E.  Billings,  of 
Hartford  ;  Grand  Captain  General  A.  C.  Golding,  of  Nor- 
walk  ;  Acting  Grand  Prelate  J.  E.  Wilson,  of  New  Jersey ; 
Grand  Senior  Warden  E.  C.  Birdseye,  of  Meriden  ;  Grand 
Junior  Warden  J.  F.  Vodwarka,  of  New  London  ;  Acting 
Grand  Treasurer  W.  H.  Bliss,  of  Hartford  ;  Grand  Recorder 
John  W.  Stedman,  of  Hartford  ;  Acting  Grand  Standard 
Bearer  H.  F.  Russell,  of  Hartford ;  Acting  Grand  Sword 
Bearer  E.  B.  Hill,  of  Keene,  New  Hampshire ;  Acting  Grand 
Warder  F.  H.  Parmelee,  of  New  London,  and  Past  Eminent 
Commander  Wm.  B.  Thomas,  of  New  London. 

The  exercises  in  the  grand  pavilion  on  Groton  Heights  be 
gan  in  the  afternoon  by  an  overture  in  genuine  Revolutionary 
style,  from  the  Moodus  Drum  Corps,  which  stirred  the  people 
in  a  way  more  classical  and  intellectual  music  would  have 
failed  to  equal.  The  Artillery  Band  being  absent,  at  the  sug 
gestion  of  one  of  the  reporters,  the  audience  sang  "America," 
General  Hawley  leading  the  song.  By  that  time  the  band 
had  arrived,  and  played  an  elaborate  selection. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  John  P.  Taylor  :  "  O  God  of 
our  fathers,  our  High  Tower,  and  our  Deliverer,  we  bless  Thy 
name  for  this  holy  clay.  Who  arc  -ve,  strangers  on  the  earth, 


Centennial.  375 

that  Thou  the  everlasting  King  shouldst  be  mindful  of  us? 
We  praise  Thee  for  our  homes  and  laws.  We  adore  Thee  for 
our  education  and  history  as  a  commonwealth,  for  our  heroes 
and  martyrs,  our  Ledyards  and  our  Hales.  We  magnify  Thee 
that  in  Thy  mercy  Thou  didst  wed,  at  the  dawn  and  eve  of 
this  century,  North  and  South  in  one  common  championship 
of  freedom.  We  glorify  Thee  for  the  tender  pity  of  a  queen 
across  the  seas,  and  for  the  sympathy  of  our  dear  motherland 
and  all  lands  in  the  sufferings  of  our  chief  magistrate.  What 
hast  Thou  not  wrought  in  Thy  loving-kindness  ?  O  Lord,  our 
God  and  our  King,  speak  to  us  through  Thine  ambassador 
this  afternoon,  we  beseech  Thee.  Thou  shield  of  our  excel 
lency  and  sword  of  our  strength  !  Write  truth  and  courage 
on  the  tablets  of  our  hearts.  Teach  us  the  breadth  and 
length  and  depth  of  a  patriotism  written  in  blood !  Save  us 
from  that  evil  spirit  which  stabs  humanity  in  citizen  or  in 
president !  Breathe  into  us  that  good  spirit  which  is  the 
spirit  of  glory,  honor,  and  immortality  !  Let  this  generation 
tell  the  generation  to  come  of  Thy  marvellous  acts  through 
men  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy !  Baptize  our  fields, 
our  marts,  our  manufactures,  our  commerce,  our  art  and  sci 
ence,  our  courts  and  press,  our  army  and  navy,  our  schools 
and  churches,  with  the  baptism  of  brave  fidelity  to  duty  and  to 
Thee  !  Make  our  country  like  Thyself,  —  glorious  in  holi 
ness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders  !  Raise  up  our  ruler 
from  his  sickness,  our  people  from  their  sins,  so  that  we  may 
live  in  Thy  covenant  and  die  with  Thy  benediction,  and  render 
unto  Thee,  the  blessed  and  only  potentate,  through  riches  of 
grace  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  greatness  and  the  power  and  the 
majesty  and  the  victory  forever  and  ever  !  Amen." 

ORATION    OF    REV.   EDWARD    EVERETT    HALE. 

I  am  to  give  you  a  short  account  of  the  short  life  of  Nathan 
Hale  and  of  his  death.  I  owe  this  privilege  to  the  accident 
of  birth,  of  which  I  gladly  avail  myself,  and  will  not  exceed 
my  privilege.  I  shall  leave  it  to  others,  who  are  around  me 
now,  who  are  far  more  fit  than  I  am,  to  study  the  lessons  of 
that  short  life  of  his,  and  to  impress  them  upon  you. 


376  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

I  do  not  remember  any  other  occasion,  when  an  assembly 
so  large  as  this  came  together,  expecting  any  man  to  give  the 
biography  of  a  young  man  who  had  died  more  than  a  cent 
ury  before,  when  he  had  hardly  attained  manhood.  It  is  cer 
tainly  exceptional,  that  any  biographer  or  eulogist,  after  a 
century  has  passed,  should  be  speaking  to  thousands  of  per 
sons  who  still  take  a  fresh  interest  in  a  career  so  short,  al 
most  all  the  events  of  which  passed  in  those  early  years,  when 
the  hero  of  them  was,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  at  least,  a  boy. 
But  Connecticut  would  not  have  been  true  to  her  history,  nor 
to  the  honorable  place  which  it  holds  in  the  history  of  the  na 
tion,  had  she  permitted  the  series  of  centennials  to  pass  by 
without  solemnly  devoting  one  day  to  the  memory  of  this 
young  man.  His  short  life  illustrates  much  which  is  most 
striking  in  that  honorable  history  of  hers.  Its  incidents  can 
not  be  too  carefully  remembered,  if  men  would  know  what 
the  Revolution  was,  and  by  what  motives  it  was  carried 
through.  And  we  should  begin  another  century  unfitly,  if 
we  permitted  the  first  century  to  close  without  distinct  ref 
erence  to  such  patriotism  and  to  such  sacrifice. 

Nathan  Hale  was  born  on  the  6th  of  June,  1755,  in  Cov 
entry,  hard  by  us  here,  a  town  in  which  one  would  be  glad, 
then  or  now,  to  have  been  born.  He  was  born  from  a  mother 
whom  one  would  have  been  proud  to  have  been  born  from, 
the  son  of  a  father  whom  one  would  be  glad  to  call  father. 
His  early  education,  in  the  midst  of  a  large  family  of  brothers 
and  sisters,  was  the  education  of  that  distinctly  domestic  type, 
under  definite  religious  direction,  which  one  is  tempted  to 
call  a  New  England  education,  when  one  speaks  of  the  best 
custom  of  those  days.  It  seems  to  have  been  simple  without 
austerity,  religious  without  terror ;  it  looked  forward  to  the 
best,  and  upward  to  the  noblest ;  and  there  was  no  service  to 
man  or  God  to  which  the  boy  trained  in  such  influences  of 
home,  neighborhood,  and  Church,  might  not  aspire.  With 
his  brother  Enoch,  scarcely  a  year  older  than  he,  Nathan  Hale 
entered  Yale  College  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  hav 
ing  in  view,  perhaps,  even  then,  the  profession  of  a  minister, 
which  he  certainly  had  in  view  afterward.  He  thus  hoped  to 
enter  the  service  both  of  God  and  of  man. 


Centennial.  377 

Before  I  go  further,  may  I  say  one  word  on  the  visible 
effect  of  such  distinctly  religious  training,  as  given  in  these 
old  Puritan  congregations  of  New  England,  in  the  political 
struggle  of  all  that  time  ?  No  man  understands  the  political 
history  of  the  Revolution,  who  does  not  remember  what  for  a 
century  and  a  half  had  been  the  religious  and  ecclesiastical 
history  of  these  New  Englanders. 

They  went  into  the  contest  with  such  confidence  in  their 
own  local  governments,  and  in  their  sufficiency  to  combine 
with  others  like  themselves,  that,  really,  single  towns  declared 
war,  separately,  against  George  III.,  the  most  powerful  mon 
arch  of  his  time.  Where  did  such  towns  learn  that  lesson  of 
self-reliance  ?  How  did  they  learn  with  it  the  other  lesson 
equally  important,  —  that,  when  a  great  occasion  should  arise, 
such  separate  communities  would  stand  together,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  as  if  they  had  been  united  in  the  most  absolute  po 
litical  order?  Why,  that  was  simply  the  lesson  which  the 
Congregational  Order  had  been  teaching  them  from  the  be 
ginning  !  In  that  order,  every  church  is  absolutely  separate 
for  its  own  affairs,  while  it  finds  no  difficulty  in  uniting,  in 
absolute  unity,  with  its  sister  churches  against  the  common 
enemy  of  mankind.  A  hundred  and  fifty  years  had  been 
teaching  that  double  lesson  to  the  serious  citizens  of  the  Con 
necticut  congregations.  Well,  that  is  the  central  lesson  of 
the  civil  liberty  of  to-day,  —  the  lesson  of  local  independence 
for  local  purposes,  and  of  vital  organic  unity  for  all  national 
purposes.  It  is  that  double  lesson  which  gives  the  life  and 
force  to  every  constitution  of  government  which  the  last 
century  has  called  into  being.  I  do  not  care  where  you  find 
such  a  constitution.  It  may  be  the  freshly  torn  parchment 
of  Bulgaria  ;  it  may  be  the  latest  constitution  of  poor  Spain  : 
in  it,  you  would  find  this  effort  to  harmonize  local  indepen 
dence  and  national  unity,  which  first  took  form  successfully 
when  men  united  the  independent  congregations  of  NewEng 
land  in  the  unity  of  spirit  in  a  Congregational  order.  When 
these  men  had  States  to  construct,  they  had  their  old  ex 
amples  and  successes  in  the  Church  to  guide  them. 

It  is  well   remembered,  among  our  New  London  friends 


378 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


here,  that  when  young  Hale  addressed  the  town-meeting  just 
after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  with  the  audacity  of  boyhood, 
-  for  he  was  not  yet  twenty  years  old,  —  he  cried,  "  Let  us 
never  lay  down  our  arms  till  we  have  achieved  our  indepen 
dence."  The  late  Mr.  Marvin,  then  a  child,  sat  upon  his 
father's  knee,  and  turned  and  asked  his  father  what  the  word 
"  independence  "  meant.  What  did  Hale  mean  by  it  ?  Where 
had  he  learned  the  word  ?  He  had  learned  it  in  the  history 
of  the  New  England  churches.  It  is  those  churches  which  gave 
the  very  word  to  the  English  language.  You  will  not  find  it  in 


UNION    SCHOOL-HOUSE,   1774. 

Shakspere.  You  will  not  find  it  in  Spenser.  You  will  find  it 
only  as  applied  to  the  religious  organizations  of  Englishmen,  if 
you  find  it  in  Lord  Bacon.  The  "  Independents,"  who  crossed 
to  Holland  under  Robinson  and  under  Bradford,  landed  at 
Plymouth ;  the  men  who  had  organized  their  infant  congrega 
tions  under  Brown  and  Robinson,  the  men  who  had  crossed 
to  Holland,  and  under  Winslow  and  Bradford  and  Brewster 
had  landed  at  Plymouth,  were  the  men  who  gave  to  your  lan 
guage  that  word,  now  so  august  in  your  history.  And  it  was 


Centennial.  379 

to  an  audience  who  remembered  that  history  that  Hale,  who 
remembered  it  too,  used  the  word  in  that  bold  prophecy  of 
the  beginning.  He  spoke  that  word  in  April,  1775.  This  is 
before  the  date  of  the  controverted  Mecklenburg  resolutions. 
I  am  surrounded  on  this  platform  by  those  who  know  better 
than  I  do.  Let  me  ask  them  if  there  is  on  record  any  pub 
lic  demand  for  "  independency  "  earlier  than  this  bold  pro 
posal  of  the  boy  Nathan  Hale  ? 

The  building  in  which  the  Union  School  was  kept  by  Hale 
is  still  standing.  It  had  been  recently  built  by  the  proprie 
tors,  who  had  obtained  incorporation,  after  Hale  became  the 
preceptor  of  the  schools,  in  October,  1774.  There  are  many 
persons  before  me  who  have  heard  their  fathers  and  mothers 
tell  of  the  spirit  with  which  Hale  taught.  The  regular  school 
was  of  thirty-two  boys,  "about  half  of  whom  were  Latiners, 
and  all  but  one  of  the  rest  were  writers."  In  addition  to  this, 
he  kept  for  young  ladies,  through  the  summer  from  five  to 
seven  every  morning,  another  school,  which  was  attended  by 
about  twenty  scholars.  The  rising  of  the  sun  would  seem  to 
have  been  on  a  different  calendar  from  ours,  —  or  the  habits 
of  the  young  people.  His  school-house  was  very  convenient, 
he  writes.  You  have  seen  it,  and  can  judge.  He  was  a 
favorite  in  society.  Handsome,  athletic,  frank,  wide-awake  in 
the  great  popular  questions  which  excited  society,  and  true 
to  the  old  creed  of  every  Connecticut  man,  —  independence 
in  religion  and  independence  in  government,  —  he  endeared 
himself  to  young  and  old.  He  had,  in  the  farewell  exercises 
at  New  Haven,  discussed  the  question  whether  the  education 
of  daughters  be  not  more  neglected  than  that  of  sons.  Here, 
in  New  London,  he  was  in  a  high  way  to  reform  that  error,  if 
error  there  were.  He  began  to  contemplate  seriously  making 
the  teaching  of  the  young  his  profession  for  life,  and  New 
London  his  home.  Had  he  done  so,  you  and  I  might  have 
seen  and  talked  with  this  delightful  old  man.  We  might  have 
heard  him  tell  of  this  and  that  abortive  effort  for  freedom 
which  failed,  because  the  sons  of  Connecticut  stayed  at  home 
or  left  it  to  bounty-jumpers  to  fight  their  battles.  But,  thank 
God  !  his  was  another  destiny,  and  this  was  not  to  be. 


380  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

At  that  time  Hale  was  not  two  years  out  of  college.  In 
college  he  had  endeared  himself  to  his  instructors  and  to  his 
classmates.  His  taste  for  study,  and  for  the  best  study,  was 
distinctly  formed  ;  and,  even  in  the  scanty  memorials  we 
have  of  his  short  life,  it  is  clear  that  he  was  using  books,  and 
the  best  books,  thoroughly,  carefully,  and  in  every  way  well. 
Of  that  class  in  Yale  College  many  men  gave  themselves 
fully  and  freely  to  the  country's  service.  The  flower  of  Yale 
and  of  Harvard  flung  themselves  into  the  army,  as  they  did 
in  these  later  years  of  another  war  for  liberty.  It  is  to  be 
obser'ved,  indeed,  by  the  student  of  the  American  Revolution, 
that,  like  all  great  struggles  for  popular  rights,  it  was  a  war 
fought  by  young  men.  General  Hawley  alluded  yesterday  to 
the  youth  of  Lafayette,  whose  one  hundred  and  twenty-fourth 
birthday  that  day  celebrated.  And  when  he  joined  the  staff 
of  Washington  Lafayette  found  men  near  his  own  age. 
Hamilton,  indeed,  was  younger  than  he.  Washington  him 
self,  whom  they  so  venerated  as  a  father,  was  in  his  forty- 
fourth  year  when  the  war  began.  Ward,  who  was  superan 
nuated  as  an  old  man  unfit  for  command,  was  forty-eight 
when  he  was  superseded.  Knox  was  but  twenty-five  when 
the  war  began,  and  many  of  his  companions  were  not  thirty. 
The  young  republic  needed  young  blood,  and  she  found  it. 
She  was  willing  to  avail  herself  of  the  tried  wisdom  of  a 
Trumbull  and  a  Franklin.  She  was  not  afraid  to  trust  the 
young  enthusiasm  of  a  Hamilton  and  a  Hale. 

During  all  Hale's  residence  in  New  London  as  a  teacher, 
he  was;  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  an  "infant."  He  was  not, 
therefore,  technically  a  "freeman."  But  he  was  enrolled  in 
the  militia,  and  he  was  profoundly  interested  in  the  military 
discipline  which  the  time  required.1  It  is  his  prominence  in 
the  community,  as  a  favorite  with  the  young,  which  permits 
one  not  yet  of  age  to  speak  at  the  meeting  called  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington.  He  enrolls  himself  as  a  volunteer, 
writes  to  Coventry  for  his  father's  permission  to  serve  in  one 
of  the  companies  of  the  new  establishment,  and  having,  of 

1  He  was  a  sergeant  in  The  Independent  Artillery  Co.  of  New  London. 


Centennial.  381 

course,  received  that  permission  from  the  sturdy  patriot,  en 
lists  in  Webb's  regiment,  the  Seventh  Connecticut,  and  asks 
the  proprietors  of  the  school  to  excuse  him  from  future  duty. 
The  regiment  was  one  raised  by  order  of  the  General  As 
sembly  that  year  for  home  defence,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  country  at  large.  In  this  regiment  Hale  was  first  lieu 
tenant  ;  and,  after  the  first  of  September,  captain.  The  com 
pany  consisted  of  seventy-one  men,  and  was  organized  before 
the  end  of  July.  The  first  service  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  New  London  ;  but  on  the  I4th  of  September  it  was 
marched,  by  Washington's  orders,  to  the  camp  at  Cambridge. 

We  have  his  brief  diary  of  the  march  of  the  detachment. 
It  passed  by  Rehoboth,  through  Attleborough,  Wrentham, 
Walpole,  and  Dedham,  to  Roxbury,  where  Hale's  company 
encamped  on  the  evening  of  September  26.  They  were  after 
ward  transferred  to  Cambridge  and  Charlestown,  and  en 
camped  at  the  foot  of  Winter  Hill.  You  will  remember  that 
when,  on  the  ijth  of  June,  your  own  General  Putnam  grimly 
retired  from  Bunker  Hill,  which  he  had  done  so  much  to 
hold,  he  said  he  would  be  willing  to  sell  another  hill  to  King 
George  at  the  same  price.  There  was  no  lack  of  hills  in 
America.  Winter  Hill  was  the  next  hill ;  and  here,  for  most 
of  that  winter,  Webb's  regiment  was  posted.  On  the  3Oth 
of  January  it  was  removed  to  the  right  wing  of  the  army  at 
Roxbury,  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Ward.  In  this 
service  it  was  able  to  participate  in  the  great  enterprise  of 
the  occupation  of  Dorchester  Heights,  in  the  work  of  one 
night  there  —  work  which  the  English  officers  of  the  time 
described  as  if  it  had  been  a  work  of  enchantment  —  which 
drove  the  English  fleet  and  army  from  the  harbor  of  Boston, 
and,  as  it  proved,  from  the  territory  of  the  United  Colonies. 
For  nearly  five  months  afterward  no  foot  of  an  enemy  pressed 
the  soil  of  States  which  were  determined  to  be  free. 

Hale's  account  of  the  way  in  which  his  men  and  he  himself 
spent  that  autumn  and  winter  is  itself  an  interesting  contri 
bution  to  one  of  the  most  interesting  periods  of  our  history. 
From  the  city  from  which  those  men  drove  an  alien  enemy 
you  have  asked  me,  kindly,  to  come  to  address  you. 


382  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

This  gives  me  a  right  to  pause  a  moment  to  recognize  the 
solid  work  done  in  the  siege  of  Boston  by  the  Connecticut 
contingent.  General  Hawley  has  alluded  to  the  zeal  and  en 
ergy  of  Putnam.  In  the  story  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  place  which 
Knowlton  with  his  regiment  held,  the  exposed  left  flank  of 
the  American  force,  proved  to  be  the  post  of  honor  as  of 
danger.  When  Prescott  and  his  men  were  driven  from  the 
redoubt  they  were  received  behind  Knowlton's  force,  which 
preserved  its  military  order,  and  in  military  order  covered  the 
retreat.  Connecticut  regiments  have  had  that  same  thing  to 
do  in  later  wars.  What  seemed  the  lethargy  of  Washington 
and  the  American  army,  in  the  early  summer,  was,  as  we  now 
know,  due  to  their  deficiencies  in  ammunition  and  in  artillery. 
From  the  last  need  they  were  relieved  by  the  result  of  the 
Connecticut  conquest  of  Ticonderoga,  so  soon  as  the  snow  on 
the  Green  Mountains  became  practicable,  that  the  mortars 
and  artillery  might  be  carried  across  New  England  to  direct 
their  fire  upon  Boston. 

Of  that  whole  winter,  the  greatest  success  was  not  a  feat  of 
arms.  It  was  the  success,  not  to  be  paralleled,  hard  to  under 
stand  or  to  believe,  by  which  one  army  was  disbanded  and 
another  enlisted,  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  of  equal,  if  not  su 
perior,  numbers.  The  besieging  army  was  virtually  an  army 
of  minute  men  while  the  year  1775  lasted.  After  New  Year's 
Day,  in  the  year  1776,  it  was  an  army  of  men  enlisted  by 
the  Continent,  and  enlisted,  in  most  instances,  for  the  war. 
Every  student  of  our  history  remembers  the  intense  inter 
est  with  which  Washington  watched  over  this  change  of  his 
forces.  In  Hale's  Diary,  the  student  has  the  chance  to  follow 
it  in  its  detail.  Take  such  an  entry  as  this :  "  Promised  the 
men,  if  they  would  tarry  another  month,  they  should  have  my 
wages  for  that  time."  It  was,  I  suppose,  a  face-to-face  dis 
cussion  with  almost  every  private,  to  induce  him  to  enlist  un 
der  the  new  establishment.  This  effort  ends  when,  having 
given  his  own  pay  to  his  men,  he  borrows  from  Captain  Leav- 
enworth  the  money  to  go  home  with,  giving  him  an  order  for 
his  pay  to  January,  and  returns  to  his  father's  house.  He 
goes  home  that  he  may  enlist  a  new  company  there.  One 


Centennial.  383 

month  of  that  frank,  friendly,  loyal  zeal  of  his  is  enough,  and, 
on  the  27th  of  January,  1776,  the  boy,  not  yet  of  age,  arrives, 
with  recruits  who  enlist  for  the  war  and  will  stand  by  to  the 
end,  at  General  Ward's  headquarters  at  Roxbury. 

In  the  great  achievement  of  the  fortification  of  Dorchester 
Heights,  on  the  5th  of  March,  which  we  owe  to  the  military 
genius  of  Thomas  and  Ward  and  Washington,  Male's  regi 
ment  seems,  as  said,  to  have  shared.  When  the  English  were 
fairly  on  their  way  to  Halifax,  Washington  foresaw  their  ef 
forts  to  occupy  New  York,  and  detached  Lee  and  Heath  and 
most  of  his  army  to  that  city.  With  this  contingent  was 
Webb's  regiment,  and  with  that  army  the  rest  of  young  Hale's 
life  was  spent.  He  marched  with  his  regiment,  which  was 
one  of  five  who  came  from  Cambridge  to  this  place,  and 
sailed  hence  to  New  York.  This  was  in  the  last  week  of 
March.  Through  the  exciting  summer  which  followed  he 
was  in  active  service.  Of  this  service  a  few  letters  preserve 
our  chief  memorial.  The  first  important  duty  in  which  he 
was  engaged  was  the  cutting  out  of  an  English  sloop  laden 
with  supplies,  which,  though  under  the  guns  of  the  Asia, 
man-of-war,  was  not  safe  from  the  amphibious  seamen -sol 
diers  of  Webb's  regiment.  At  the  head  of  a  boat-load  of  men, 
Hale  boarded  her  at  midnight,  and  brought  her  in,  in  triumph, 
to  the  pier.  Her  stores  were  distributed  as  clothing  and  as 
food  in  the  army.  It  was  the  double  capacity  of  these  men, 
trained  for  either  element,  which  kept  this  regiment  from 
Thames  River  in  New  York.  At  one  time  it  was  put  on  the 
list  for  detachment  to  Canada.  "  But  the  question  was  asked 
whether  we  had  many  seamen,  and  the  answer  being  yes,  we 
were  erased,  and  another  put  down  in  our  place." 

My  little  story  is  hastening  to  its  end.  But  I  will  not  come 
to  that  end  without  saying  a  word  of  the  work  those  men  did 
for  American  liberty,  who  served  it  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land. 
Standing  where  I  stand,  in  sight  of  the  river  from  which 
sailed  so  many  of  the  American  privateersmen,  I  should  but 
half  tell  my  story  if  I  did  not  say  that  word.  The  truth  is 
that  the  history  of  the  naval  enterprise  of  the  Revolution  has 
never  been  adequately  written  out,  perhaps  cannot  be  ;  and. 


384  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

in  the  general  estimate  of  the  Revolution,  the  effects  of  that 
enterprise  are  not  enough  regarded.  At  the  time  when  Hale 
died,  the  war  with  America  was  universally  popular  in  Eng 
land.  Five  years  after,  the  House  of  Commons  voted  that 
they  who  advised  a  continuation  of  the  war  in  America  were 
enemies  of  their  country ;  and  undoubtedly  the  House  of 
Commons  reflected  English  opinion.  It  is  my  belief,  and  I 
think  history  will  show,  that  the  steady  change  in  English 
opinion  in  those  five  years  was  wrought  more  by  the  losses  of 
English  merchants  on  the  seas  than  by  the  losses  of  English 
armies  on  the  land.  Even  before  the  French  alliance,  the 
annual  naval  appropriations  of  Parliament  were  of  necessity 
larger  than  those  of  the  army.  In  the  year  1777  alone,  only 
forty  English  vessels  out  of  two  hundred  engaged  in  the  Afri 
can  trade  escaped  the  American  cruisers.  Of  the  fleet  that 
traded  between  Ireland  and  the  West  Indies,  scarcely  half 
escaped.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  vessels  in  the  West  Indian 
trade,  with  cargoes  amounting  to  ten  million  dollars,  were 
captured  in  a  single  year.  We  do  not  wonder  to  read  that 
for  the  insurance  of  a  vessel  for  a  single  voyage  more  than 
fifty  per  cent,  was  paid  in  England.  This  war  upon  the  sea 
was,  in  practice,  carried  on  by  the  privateers  of  Essex  County 
in  Massachusetts,  and  by  your  own  Connecticut  seamen  here. 
At  the  end  of  the  war,  the  privateer  fleet  of  the  port  of  Salem 
alone  counted  twenty-six  ships  and  thirty-three  smaller  ves 
sels,  which  carried  four  thousand  men  and  twelve  hundred 
and  eighty  guns.  The  fleet  of  New  London  and  of  this  river 
was  probably  as  strong  until  the  events  which  yesterday  cele 
brated.  The  incursion  which  resulted  in  the  burning  of  New 
London  was  the  vengeance  of  England  against  this  harbor  of 
her  enemies.1 

Captain  Hale's  web-footed  soldiers  were  called  on  all  that 
summer  in  their  double  capacity.  I  have  no  doubt  but  they 
were  at  work  with  Glover's  Marblehead  men  all  that  critical 
night  of  the  2gth  of  August,  when  the  army  retreated  from 

1  General  Hawley,  behind  the  speaker,  said,  at  this  moment,  that  it  was 
on  record  that  eight  hundred  and  three  prizes  were  brought  into  New 
London  in  the  course  of  the  war. 


Centennial.  385 

Brooklyn  to  the  city  of  New  York  ;  for  McDougal  had  the 
charge  of  the  transportation,  and  Webb's  regiment  was  in 
McDougal's  brigade.  A  week  before,  in  Hale's  last  letter  to 
his  brother,  he  describes  a  spirited  attempt  made  by  Sergeant 
Fosdick,  of  his  own  company,  and  four  privates  to  set  fire  to 
the  frigate  Phoenix.  The  attempt  was  made  doubtless  un 
der  Hale's  own  orders  ;  and,  though  it  did  not  succeed  as  fully 
as  had  been  hoped,  the  men  received  the  thanks  and  rewards 
of  the  General,  and  the  Phoenix  and  her  companion  returned 
to  the  Narrows.  "  It  is  agreed  on  all  hands,"  Washington 
writes,  "  that  our  people  behaved  with  great  resolution  and 
intrepidity."  Though  the  Phoenix  escaped,  one  of  her  tenders 
was  captured,  and  four  cannon  and  six  swivels  were  taken 
from  her. 

After  the  letter  describing  this  gallant  affair,  we  have  a  few 
broken  notes  in  Hale's  Diary,  which  closes  suddenly  with  a 
memorandum  of  the  first  skirmishing  before  the  battle  of 
Long  Island.  After  this  event,  we  must  trace  his  short  his- 
t9ry,  with  no  help  from  his  own  pen.  Through  the  month  of 
September,  Washington  is  steadily  driven  further  and  further 
up  the  island.  After  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  Knowlton 
had  organized,  under  his  own  command,  a  separate  corps  of 
officers  and  men  from  New  England  regiments.  This  corps 
is  spoken  of  as  Knowlton's  Rangers.  The  officers  and  men 
had  volunteered  for  this  service,  and  on  the  rolls  of  their  own 
regiments  are  spoken  of  as  "  detached  on  command."  They 
received  their  orders  directly  from  Washington  and  from 
Putnam,  and  were  of  great  service  in  watching  the  enemy 
along  the  Harlem  front.  In  this  little  corps  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  Hale  was  one  of  the  captains.  Stephen  Brown 
and  Thomas  Grosvenor  were  two  others.  They  bore  off  the 
honors  of  the  battle  of  Harlem  Heights.  In  that  action, 
Knowlton  was  killed.  "  I  asked  him,"  said  his  Captain  Brown, 
"  if  he  was  badly  wounded.  He  told  me  he  was  ;  but  says 
he,  '  I  do  not  value  my  life,  if  we  do  but  get  the  day.'  When 
gasping  in  the  agonies  of  death,  all  his  inquiry  was  if  we  had 
drove  the  enemy."  They  did  drive  the  enemy,  they  did  win 
the  day  ;  and  Knowlton  gave  his  life  for  the  victory.  The 

25 


386  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

spot  where  he  fell  can  be  perfectly  identified.  It  is,  I  believe, 
in  one  of  the  most  picturesque  parts  of  the  Central  Park.  It 
is  of  Knowlton  that  Washington  said  in  General  Orders  that 
he  was  a  gallant  and  brave  officer,  who  would  have  been  an 
honor  to  any  country.  The  day  will  come  when  some  group 
of  bronze  in  the  great  Central  Park  shall  bear  this  inscription 
in  memory  of  one  of  Connecticut's  noblest  sons. 

But  where  is  Hale,  as  these  weeks  pass  by  ?  "  The  gallant 
and  brave  Colonel  Knowlton,  who  would  have  been  an  honor 
to  any  country,  having  fallen  yesterday,  while  gloriously 
fighting,  Captain  Brown  is  to  take  command  of  the  party  lately 
led  by  Colonel  Knowlton."  These  are  Washington's  words 
in  General  Orders  the  next  day.  Hale  is  not  wont  to  be 
absent  from  the  field  of  danger.  It  is  another  line  of  duty  to 
which  he  is  called  ;  and  once  and  again,  far  away,  he  hears 
the  shots  of  distant  battles,  and  wonders  whether  they  are 
aimed  by  his  foes  or  by  his  friends. 

He  was  on  special  service  ;  on  difficult  service ;  service 
called  dishonorable,  but  service  of  his  country.  "  We  have 
not  been  able  to  obtain  the  least  information,"  said  Washing 
ton,  on  the  6th  of  September,  "of  the  enemy's  plans."  In  sheer 
despair  at  the  need  of  better  information  than  the  tories.of 
New  York  City  would  give  him,  the  great  commander  con 
sulted  his  council,  and  at  their  direction  summoned  Knowlton 
to  ask  for  some  volunteer  of  intelligence,  who  would  find  his 
way  into  the  English  lines,  and  bring  back  some  tidings  that 
could  be  relied  upon.  Knowlton  summoned  a  number  of 
officers,  and  stated  to  them  the  wishes  of  their  great  chief. 
The  appeal  was  received  with  dead  silence.  It  is  said  that 
Knowlton  appealed  to  a  non-commissioned  officer,  a  French 
man,  who  was  an  old  soldier.  He  did  so  only  to  receive  the 
natural  reply,  "  I  am  willing  to  be  shot,  but  not  to  be  hung." 
Knowlton  felt  that  he  must  report  his  failure  to  Washington, 
when  the  youngest  of  his  captains  spoke,  and  Nathan  Hale 
said,  "  I  will  undertake  it."  He  had  come  late  to  the  meet 
ing.  He  was  pale  with  recent  sickness.  But  he  saw  an  op 
portunity  to  serve,  and  did  the  duty  next  his  hand. 

We  have  on  record  from  his  college  classmate,  Hull,  the 


Centennial.  387 

statement  which  Hale  himself  made  at  the  moment.  Hull 
says  he  himself  put  fairly  before  Hale  the  danger  of  the  task 
and  the  ignominy  attached  to  it  in  failure.  Hale  replied,  "  I 
wish  to  be  useful,  and  every  kind  of  service  necessary  to  the 
public  good  becomes  honorable  by  being  necessary.  If  the 
exigencies  of  my  country  demand  a  peculiar  service,  its  claims 
to  perform  that  service  are  imperious."  These  are  the  last 
words  which  we  can  report  from  him  till  the  moment  of  his 
death.  He  promised  Hull  to  take  his  arguments  into  con 
sideration,  but  Hull  never  heard  from  him  again. 

In  the  second  week  of  September,  he  left  the  camp  for 
Stamford,  with  Stephen  Hempstead,  a  sergeant  in  Webb's 
regiment,  from  whom  we  have  the  last  direct  account  of  his 
journey.  With  Hempstead  and  Ansel  Wright,  who  was  his 
servant  in  camp,  he  left  his  uniform  and  some  other  articles 
of  property.  He  crossed  to  Long  Island  in  citizen's  dress, 
and,  as  Hempstead  thought,  took  with  him  his  college  di 
ploma,  meaning  to  assume  the  aspect  of  a  Connecticut  school 
master  visiting  New  York  in  the  hope  to  establish  himself. 
He  landed  near  Huntington,  or  Oyster  Bay,  and  directed  the 
boatman  to  return  for  him  at  a  time  fixed  by  him,  the  2Oth  of 
September.  He  made  his  way  into  New  York,  and  there,  for 
a  week  or  more  apparently,  prosecuted  his  inquiries.  He  re 
turned  on  the  day  fixed,  and  awaited  his  boat.  It  appeared, 
as  he  thought ;  and  he  made  a  signal  from  the  shore.  Alas  ! 
he  had  mistaken  the  boat.  She  was  from  an  English  frigate 
which  lay  screened  by  a  point  of  woods,  and  had  come  in  for 
water.  Hale  attempted  to  retrace  his  steps,  but  was  too 
late.1 

He  was  ordered  to  remain,  was  seized  and  examined.     On 

1  In  the  rage  and  distress  of  the  excitement  of  the  time,  the  rumor 
spread  that  Hale  was  betrayed  by  a  tory  kinsman.  But  the  narrative  in 
the  text,  which  is  that  of  Solomon  Worden,  of  Oyster  Bay,  gives  no  room 
for  any  such  treachery  ;  and  I  know  no  evidence  for  it,  beyond  "  't  is 
said."  I  know  that  my  father  did  not  believe  the  story  of  treachery:  I 
"lo  not  think  his  father  did.  The  fact  that  the  disgrace  was  now  attached 
to  one  cousin,  now  to  another,  shows  almost  certainly  that  it  belongs  to 
neither.  -  E.  E.  H. 


388  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

his  person  were  the  notes  he  had  taken,  written,  as  it  proved, 
in  Latin.  They  compromised  him  at  once.  He  was  taken 
on  board  the  frigate,  the  captain  of  which  expressed  his  grief 
that  he  had  to  detain  so  fine  a  fellow.  There  was  not  a  day's 
delay,  and  Hale  was  sent  back  immediately  to  New  York. 

He  was  at  once  sent,  well  guarded,  to  New  York.  He 
landed  there  when  the  city  was  in  the  terrors  of  a  great  con 
flagration.  It  was  on  that  2ist  of  September,  when  nearly  a 
quarter  of  the  town  was  burned  down.  Nearly  five  hundred 
houses  were  destroyed.  In  the  midst  of  the  confusion  and 
terror,  Hale  is  marched  up  to  Howe's  headquarters,  and  there 
he  meets  his  doom. 

The  trial  was  short.  Hale  was  not  there  to  prevaricate. 
Nay,  the  papers  on  his  person  were  his  condemnation.  He 
was  to  be  hanged  the  next  morning.  And  only  one  thing 
worse  can  be  added  to  the  agony  of  such  a  death.  He  is  to 
be  hanged  by  William  Cunningham,  provost-marshal  of  the 
English  army. 

Of  the  sleepless  night  which  followed,  we  have  little  me 
morial.  He  wrote  to  his  father  and  family.  Cunningham  de 
stroyed  the  letters  before  his  eyes.  "  The  rebels  shall  not 
know  they  have  a  man  who  can  die  so  bravely."  He  asked 
for  a  Bible :  his  request  was  refused.  At  morning,  he  is 
marched  out  to  the  gallows.  Cunningham,  in  derision,  bids 
him  speak  to  the  people.  And  Hale  turns  and  says,  in  words 
which  are  immortal,  — 

"  I  only  regret  that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give  to  my  coun 
try." 

The  first  news  Washington  receives  of  the  adventure  is  by 
the  flag  of  truce,  by  which  Howe  sends  him  special  word  that 
his  messenger  is  hanged. 

Thus  ends  a  martyr's  life.  Hardly  three  months  had 
passed  since  he  was  twenty-one  years  old. 

It  is  to  be  wished  that  some  one  had  asked  Washington, 
while  he  lived,  what  was  the  special  information  for  which  he 
was  willing  to  detach  an  officer  of  such  worth,  under  circum 
stances  so  critical.  Of  that  object,  no  record  was  made.  But 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  difficult  yet  how  necessary  it  was,  in  the 


Centennial.  389 

first  confusion,  —  the  chaos  of  the  retreat  from  Long  Island 
and  the  second  retreat  back  on  the  island  of  New  York,  —  to 
learn  what  was  the  English  force,  and,  if  possible,  what  the 
purposes  of  the  commander.  The  news  of  Hale's  death  was 
received  by  his  friends  with  an  agony  of  distress.  It  hap 
pened,  five  years  after,  that  the  whole  history  was  recalled 
again,  when  Andre  was  captured  and  tried.  Major  Tall- 
madge,  who  had  charge  of  Andr£  as  a  prisoner,  broke  to  him 
his  own  fate  by  telling  him  the  story  of  Hate,  which  Andre 
knew  only  too  well.  Andre  himself  alluded  to  it  on  his  trial. 
I  think  Clinton  refers  to  Hale  in  his  note  on  Andre's  case. 
I  think  he  means  to  say  that  Hale's  death  was  Howe's  work, 
not  his.  "  Thou  canst  not  say  I  did  it."  1  From  that  time  to 
this  time,  the  parallel  between  these  two  young  men,  both 
brave,  both  rash,  if  you  please,  and  both  unfortunate,  has 
often  been  pursued. 

I  will  not  follow  it.  I  am  too  near  in  blood  and  in  affection 
to  Hale.  I  am  too  far  from  Andr£  in  training  and  habit  of 
thought,  and  in  my  notion  of  what  is  the  object  of  a  man's 
life.  This,  only,  will  I  say  :  that,  whoever  tells  Andre's  story, 
as  he  discusses  the  end  of  his  life,  has  to  carry  the  weight  of 
the  wretched  fact  that,  in  Andre's  own  letter  to  his  judges, 
pleading  for  that  life,  he  makes  statements  which  are  untrue, 
and  which  he  knows  are  untrue  when  he  makes  them.  No 
such  difficulty  hampers  the  speaker  or  the  writer  who  tells  the 
short  story  of  Nathan  Hale. 

1  The  passage  is:  "Mr.  Washington  ought  to  remember  that  /had 
never,  in  any  one  instance,  punished  the  disaffected  colonists  within  my 
power  with  death,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  in  several  shown  the  most  hu 
mane  attention  to  his  intercession,  even  in  favor  of  avowed  spies."  Il 
seems  to  me  that,  in  this  passage,  Clinton  alludes  to  Howe.  No  one  has 
ever  complained  that  Hale's  sentence,  under  the  laws  of  war,  was  not 
just.  He  did  not  complain  himself.  It  was  brutally  executed.  For  this, 
Howe's  excuse  must  be  that  a  quarter  of  the  city  was  burning  when  he 
pronounced  sentence  :  he  was  in  the  flush  of  success,  and  doubtless 
thought  the  whole  matter  well-nigh  over.  Whether  a  prisoner  before  him 
did  or  did  not  hold  a  commission,  was  or  was  not  in  service  as  a  soldier, 
would  be  of  no  consequence  when  the  Rebellion  was  put  down,  as  he 
probably  thought  it  would  be  within  a  few  months'  time.  —  K.  E.  H. 


390  Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 

Let  me  rather  close  this  memorial  of  one  whom  I  have 
learned  to  honor  and  love,  by  comparing  him  with  another 
son  of  Connecticut,  a  soldier,  and  a  brave  soldier,  too,  who  in 
that  day  filled  a  place  far  larger  than  Nathan  Hale  was  called 
to,  but  whom,  this  to-day,  every  man  would  be  glad  if  he  could 
forget  forever.  Benedict  Arnold  went  forth  to  war  at  the 
same  summons  with  Hale.  He  won  early  honors  and  prefer 
ment,  though  Dr.  Bacon  tells  me  that  his  honors  were  always 
from  those  who  did  not  know  him,  and  never  from  Connecti 
cut  herself.  No  man  asks  where  is  his  burial-place.  No  man, 
after  a  hundred  years,  retraces  every  step  of  his  life,  in  fond 
wish  to  reproduce  his  history.  When  he  was  born,  a  fond 
mother  gave  to  him  the  name  of  a  Christian  saint,  of  one  who 
had  been  foremost  in  the  triumphs  of  the  church,  and,  to  day, 
in  all  the  millions  of  America,  there  is  no  man  or  woman  but 
would  as  soon  call  a  child  by  the  name  of  Judas  Iscariot  as 
by  the  name  of  Benedict.  "  Who  also  betrayed  her."  This 
is  his  epitaph.  A  friend  of  mine,  traveling  in  the  East,  met 
an  accomplished  Englishman,  who  joined  cordially  in  the  in 
timacies  of  travel.  But,  when  the  American  gave  his  name 
to  the  other,  and  asked  his  in  return,  he  hesitated,  he  begged 
to  be  excused.  "  Indeed,  you  will  be  sorry  you  asked. 
You  will  not  like  me  as  well  as  you  do  now."  No,  indeed. 
For  the  name  was  the  wretched  name  of  Benedict  Arnold  ! 

It  is  not  to  success  in  battle,  it  is  not  to  eloquence  of 
speech,  it  is  to  prompt  self-sacrifice,  it  is  to  readiness  to  die 
when  one's  country  calls,  that  the  honors  of  to-day  are  given. 
It  is  to  such  sacrifice,  such  loyalty,  and  such  truth  that  we 
owe  it,  that  any  man  may  be  proud  indeed,  this  day,  that  he 
is  called  upon  to  say  a  halting  word  in  memory  of  NATHAN 
HALE. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Hale's  address,  which  was  received 
with  appreciative  applause,  the  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New 
Haven,  was  introduced  by  the  president. 

The  venerable  divine  spoke  briefly.  During  his  remarks 
he  referred  to  the  "acquaintance"  spoken  of  in  Nathan 
Hale's  last  letter,  being,  indeed,  the  lady  of  his  choice,  who  in 


Centennial.  39 1 

her  last  hours,  when  the  mind  reverts  to  early  life,  murmured, 
"  Write  to  Nathan."  This  lady  was  a  member  of  the  church 
Dr.  Bacon  attended  in  his  youth,  thus  an  acquaintance  of  his. 

After  this  the  Secretary  of  the  Groton  Heights  Centennial 
Committee  proposed  a  resolution,  "  That  the  Connecticut 
Legislature  be  memorialized  to  appropriate  funds  for  the 
erection  of  a  statue  or  monument  to  Nathan  Hale,  the  mar 
tyr  spy,  in  the  Capitol  at  Hartford." 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  indorsed  by  the  audience, 
and  Senator  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  ex-Governors  Richard  D. 
Hubbard  and  Charles  R.  Ingersoll,  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon, 
Mayor  Robert  Coit,  and  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Waller,  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  assume  charge  of  the  matters  relating 
to  the  resolution.  By  request  the  audience  arose  and  sang 
the  Doxology,  with  a  reverential  spirit,  and  after  a  benedic 
tion  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Shipman  the  gathering  dis 
persed. 

The  celebration  was  brought  to  a  close  by  a  grand  illumi 
nation  of  New  London,  which  surpassed  anything  of  the  kind 
ever  before  attempted  in  that  city. 

The  illumination  was  too  general  to  make  individual  men 
tion  possible  ;  each  one  did  what  they  could,  from  the  one 
small  lantern  bought  with  the  hardly  saved  pennies  of  the 
almost  pauper  child,  to  the  thousand  fanciful  lanterns  and 
calcium  lights  of  the  millionaire. 

From  the  Parade  to  the  city  limits,  from  Water  Street  to 
the  Park,  the  citizens  had  realized  that  this  was  a  celebration 
that  would  never  occur  again  for  them,  and  improved  the 
opportunity,  producing  a  fairy  display  to  be  remembered 
one's  life  through. 

The  streets  were  filled  till  a  late  hour  with  pedestrians 
viewing  the  different  displays. 

Thus  ended  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  heroism  of 
Groton  Heights  and  the  burning  of  New  London.  We  trust 
it  leaves  naught  but  pleasant  memories,  and  certainly  New 
London  and  Groton  will  have  reason  to  congratulate  them 
selves  if  they  ever  bring  together  again  so  vast  a  crowd,  en 
tertain  it  so  well,  and  send  it  home  with  so  little  accident. 


APPENDIX  B. 


IN  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  an  invitation  to  be  present  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Centennial  Celebration  at  Groton  Heights,  Mr.  Benson 
J.  Lossing  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Invitation  Committee  :  — 

THE  RIDGK,   DOVER  PLAINS  P.  O.,  DUTCHESS  COUNTY,  N.  Y.,  | 

August  22,  1881.      \ 

GENTLEMEN  :  — Your  kind  invitation  to  participate  in  the  celebration  of 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Groton  Heights  was  duly 
received,  and  I  have  delayed  a  response  with  the  hope  that  I  might  be  able 
to  accept  it,  but  I  regret  to  say  circumstances  will  deny  me  the  pleasure  of 
such  participation.  I  cordially  thank  you  for  the  invitation.  The  occasion 
is  one  of  such  deep  interest  in  its  relations  to  our  national  history  that  it 
should  excite  the  liveliest  sympathy  of  every  patriotic  American  citizen. 
The  battle  of  Groton  Heights,  sad  and  disheartening  to  the  friends  of 
freedom  as  were  its  immediate  results,  proved  to  be  the  decisive  prelim 
inary  skirmish  before  the  great  battle  which  secured  victory  to  the 
patriots  of  Yorktown  a  few  weeks  later.  Treason  and  toryism  were  so 
conspicuously  hateful  at  New  London  and  Groton  on  the  occasion  which 
you  now  celebrate,  and  the  savagism  of  both,  directed  by  the  merciless 
mailed  hand  of  oppression  and  wrong,  committed  such  cruel  outrages,  that 
the  great  heart  of  the  struggling  Americans,  at  first  appalled,  received 
unwonted  strength  and  determination.  The  horror  and  indignation 
awaked -by  the  crackling  flames  at  New  London,  and  the  cries  of  the  vic 
tims  murdered  at  Fort  Griswold  sounding  in  the  ears  of  the  patriots 
before  Yorktown,  gave  strength  to  their  arms,  keenness  to  their  blades, 
sharpness  to  their  bayonets,  precision  to  their  bullets,  and  indomitable 
energy  to  their  will  in  the  final  battle  which  secured  independence  to 
Americans.  The  events  on  Groton  Heights  and  at  Yorktown  are  as  insep 
arable  as  cause  and  effect.  Again  thanking  you,  I  remain,  gentlemen, 
Your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

BENSON  J.  LOSSING. 

To  J.  George  Harris,  Benjamin  Stark,  Hugh  H.  Osgood,  Charles 
Perrin,  James  A.  Billings,  Invitation  Committee. 

Hon.  George  Bancroft  wrote  as  follows  to  his  old  friend,  Mr.  J.  George 
Harris,  President  of  the  Centennial  Committee  :  — 


Appendix  B.  393 

NEWPORT,  August  22,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  HARRIS  :  —  To  receive  a  letter  from  an  old  faithful  friend  is 
a  delight  to  me  in  my  octogenarian  year.  Of  course,  I  should  wish  to 
take  you  by  the  hand,  but  I  am  here  in  the  power  of  printers  and  cor 
rectors  of  the  press,  and  cannot  leave  home  even  for  a  day.  You  must, 
to  all  who  speak  to  you  upon  the  subject,  express  how  entirely  my  heart 
is  with  them  on  the  great  occasion  which  they  celebrate,  and  how  I  think 
the  country  people  that  won  the  day  in  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution 
deserve  to  be  remembered  and  praised  as  much  as  the  Greeks  of 
Marathon.  Their  courage  and  love  of  country  should  be  celebrated  not 
at  the  end  of  a  century  only,  but  of  a  thousand  years. 

Ever,  in  true  affection,  yours,  GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

IN   THE    HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  MARCH    IJ,    l88o. 

John  Turner.  Wait,  member  for  the  Third  District  of  Connecticut,  intro 
duced  the  following  bill,  which  he  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  passed  after 
the  usual  delays  :  — 

AN  ACT  appropriating  money  towards  the  expense  to  be  incurred  in  the  Cen 
tennial  Celebration  of  the  battle  on  Groton  Heights,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Whereas,  the  battle  of  Groton  Heights  was  one  of  the  closing  events 
of  the  American  Revolution,  preceding  the  final  surrender  of  the  British 
forces  at  Yorktown,  in  Virginia,  only  one  month  and  thirteen  days,  and 
is  logically  and  historically  connected  with  that  great  event ;  and 

Whereas,  the  State  of  Connecticut  has  already  commenced  preparations 
for  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  this  battle,  the  massacre  attendant  upon 
the  capture  of  Fort  Griswold,  and  the  burning  of  New  London, —  all 
scenes  in  the  bloody  drama  of  September  sixth,  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-one  ;  and 

Whereas,  the  people  of  the  other  States  of  the  Union,  proud  of  the 
part  which  their  fathers  took  in  achieving  American  independence,  and 
actuated  by  the  feeling  of  a  common  brotherhood,  must  desire  to  unite 
with  the  people  of  Connecticut  in  paying  a  proper  tribute  to  the  patri 
otism,  dauntless  courage,  and  heroic  sacrifice  of  the  noble  band  of  men 
who  fought  valiantly  against  superior  numbers  of  British  troops,  and 
chose  death  rather  than  surrender  their  homes  to  the  brutality  and  lust 
of  the  invaders  :  Therefore, 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated,  out  of  any  money  in 
the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  be  expended  by  the  Centen 
nial  Committee  of  the  Groton  Monument  Association,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  to  defray  the  ex 
penses  which  will  be  incurred  in  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniver 
sary  of  ihe  battle  and  massacre  at  Kort  Griswold,  or  Groton  Heights, 
and  the  burning  of  New  London,  on  the  sixth  day  of  September,  seven 
teen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  in  such  manner  as  shall  befit  the  historical 
significance  of  that  event,  and  be  indicative  of  the  present  power,  pros 
perity,  and  greatness* of  the  United  States  as  a  nation. 


394 


Battle  of  Groton  Heights. 


SEC.  2.  That  the  further  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appropriated, 
out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the 
purpose  of  thoroughly  repairing  the  granite  monument  erected  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-six  on  Groton  Heights,  and  to  be  dis 
bursed  under  the  direction  of  the  Groton  Monument  Association.  • 

SEC.  3.  That  the  Centennial  Committee  of  the  Groton  Monument 
Association  are  hereby  authorized  to  enter  upon  and  use  the  battle-field 
on  Groton  Heights  at  such  times  and  in  such  manner  as  may  be  neces 
sary  for  the  Centennial  services. 

Approved,  March  2,  1881. 


RECEIPTS    OF   THE    CENTENNIAL   COMMITTEE. 

From  Congress  of  the  United  States 
"      the  Legislature  of  Connecticut    . 
"      subscriptions  ...... 

"      rent  of  ground 

"      receipts  for  transportation 

"      interest        ....  .        . 


Total  receipts 

EXPENSES   OF  THE  COMMITTEES. 

Historical 

Finance       

Military         ........ 

Transportation 

Invitation 

Reception 

Music    ......... 

Entertainment 

Decorations,  tents,  seats,  police,  etc.  . 

Civic  bodies 

Publication  ........ 

Fireworks        . 

Press 

Ladies  Committee 

Miscellaneous  expenses 


Total 

Paid  to  treasurer  of  Groton  Monument  Association 
Returned  to  subscribers  at  their  request1 
Balance  on  hand  *         .  .        . 


Total    . 


$5,000.00 
.     3,000.00 
2,480.00 
1 20.00 
1,008.50 
56.25 

$11,664.75 


.     $246.75 

29-53 

324.98 

1,959.42 

152.00 

437-75 

251.00 

1,304-82 

2,214.42 

148-63 

325-34 

1,008.00 

148.95 

IOO.OO 

360.34 

$9,011.93 

.  $1,970.00 

532.00 

150.82 

$11,664.75 


1  A  part  of  this  was  on  receipt  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  New  London  County  Historical 
Society. 
*  A  large  part  of  this  sum  is  appropriated,  but  not  yet  paid  out. 


INDEX 

TO   INDIVIDUAL   NAMES. 


SEE  ALSO   LISTS  ON    PAGES   22,  24,  28,  148,  266,  269,  271,  286,  307. 


ABRAHAM,  SAMUEL,  122. 

Adams,  Elizabeth,  137. 

Adams,  John,  260. 

Adams,  Nathaniel,  137, 
260. 

Alden,  David,  263. 

Alden,  John,  263. 

Alger,  Mrs.  M.  L.,  107. 

Allen,  Ethan,  282. 

•Allyn,  Helton,  196,  259. 

Allyn,  Benadam,  196,  259. 

Allyn,  Esther,  139. 

Allyn,  Joseph,  196,  259. 

Allyn,  Mary,  134. 

Allyn,  Capt.  Robert,  244. 

Allyn,  Robert,  14,  259. 

Allyn,  Capt.  Samuel,  134, 
195.  223,  237.  238,  258. 
259- 

Allyn,  Samuel  G.,  237. 

Allyn,  Capt.  Simeon,  139, 
197,  259. 

Amherst,  General,  217. 

Anderson,  William,  284, 
285. 

Angel,  James,  126. 

Arnold,  Benedict,  14,  19, 
20,  21,  29,  37,  47,  59, 
61,  63,  70,  77,  83,  85. 
86,  90,  94,  96,  98,  100, 
104,  105,  in,  163,  165, 
166,  171,  174,  177,  179, 
l8t,  195,  196,  197,  198, 
199,  200,  216,  219,  223, 
243,  282,  283,  284,  285, 
286,  288,  291,  297,  298. 

Arnold,  Isaac,  N.,  282. 

Arnold,  Oliver,  284. 

Ashcroft,  William,  65,  66. 

Avery,  Amos,  253. 

Avery,  Benjamin,  254. 


Avery,  Caleb,  35,  215,  256. 
Avery,  Christopher,   249, 

253- 
Avery,    Daniel,    93,    136, 

201,  254. 
Avery,  David,  93,  139,  204, 

253.  254- 

Avery,  Deborah,  136. 
Avery,    Ebenezer,  41,  54, 
84,    138,    189,   240,   252, 

254,  256. 

Avery,    Capt.    Elijah,  32, 

134,  203,  253. 
Avery,    Elisha,   202,    253, 

255- 
Avery,    Elizabeth    Allyn, 

256. 

Avery,  Eunice,  253. 
Avery,  George,  253. 
Avery,  Hannah,  255. 
Avery,  James,  253,  256. 
Avery,  James  D.,  256. 
Avery,  Jasper,  203,  252. 
Avery,  Jefferson,  252. 
Avery,  John,  253,  254. 
Avery,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  238. 
Avery,  Jonathan,  Sr.,  238. 
Avery,  Lydia  Lord,  139. 
Avery,  Mary,  256. 
Avery,    Elder   Park,    242, 

25'.  253.  256. 
Avery,  Lieut.    Parke,    50, 

93,    130,  251,  252,  255, 

256. 

Avery,  Parkejr.,  122,  201. 
Avery,  Peter,  14,  254,256. 
Avery,  Phebe,  138. 
Avery,  Prudence,  134. 
Avery,  Rachel,  243. 
Avery,  Rufus,  9,  21,  29,  44, 

iio,  240,  255,  256,  257. 


Avery,  Silas  Deane,  50. 
Avery,  Solomon,  93,  201, 

254. 

Avery,  Thankful,   254. 
Avery,    Thomas,   50,    93, 

201,  252. 

Avery,  Youngs,  256. 
Ayres,  Col.     See  Eyre. 

Babcock,  Anna,  135. 
Babcock,  John  P.,  135,  205. 
Bacon,  Edward  Woolsey, 

293- 

Bacon,  Dr.  Leonard,  290. 
Bailey,  Benjamin,  245. 
Bailey,  Elijah,  234,  277. 
Bailey,  Elizabeth,   136. 
Bailey,  Ezekiel,  136,  249, 

291. 

Bailey,  James,  84. 
Bailey,   Mother,   277,  278. 
Bailey,  Silas,  246. 
Baker,  Andrew,   135,   199, 

228. 

Baker,  Joshua,  93,  228. 
Baker,  Mary,  135. 
Barber,     Rev.    Jonathan, 

246,  247. 

Beaston,  Robert,  165. 
Beaumont,    Samuel,    290, 

291. 
Beazley,  Captain,   15,  105, 

112. 

Beckwith,    Capt.   George, 
35.   37,  49,  52,   86,  9'. 

96,  101,  104,   112. 
Belton,  Captain,  87. 
Benton,  Col.  Thos.  H.,  60. 
Bill,  Benjamin,  84,  223. 
Bill,  Joshua,  230. 
Bill,  Phillip,  230. 


396 


Index. 


Billings,     Andrew,     188, 

221. 

Billings,  Bridget,  188. 

Billings,  John,  250. 

Billings,  Mary,  136. 

Billings,  Samuel,  136,  250. 

Billings,  Stephen,  188, 
221. 

Bissell,  Hezekiah,  88,  117. 

Bloomfield,  Captain.  See 
Bromfield. 

Bolton,  William,  134,  223. 

Botta,  Charles  I.  W.,  169, 
171. 

Boyd,  James,  102. 

Boyden,  Eunice  Fish,  235. 

Bromfield,  Major  Ste 
phen,  34,  35,  37,  38,  40, 
41,  84,  92,  102, 112,  168, 

256, 257. 

Brooks,  Jonathan,   10,  74, 

82,  1 10,  1 16,  230,  287. 
Brown,  George  W.,  290. 
Brown,  John,  249. 
Buddington,  Walter,  290, 

291. 
Burdick,    Mercy    Jaques, 

236. 

Burgoyne,  283. 
Burrows,     Hubbard,     93, 

135,  204,  236,  250,  254. 
Burrows,  Sarah,  135. 
Bushnell,  Reuben,  143. 
Butler,  Jonathan,  248. 

Calkings,  Pember,  126. 

Calkins,  Jonathan,  63. 

Canfield,  John,   144. 

Capewell,  Mrs.,  251. 

Caulkins,  Frances  Man- 
waring,  37,  50,  79,  93. 
98,99,  105,109,182,237, 
291. 

Chapman,  Esther,  134. 

Chapman,  Lieut.  Richard, 
51,  65,  66,  68,  78,  82, 
134,  209,  229,  288. 

Chester,  Abraham,  240. 

Chester,  Augustin,  239. 

Chester,  Charles,  237,  238, 

239- 
Chester,  Daniel,  187,  237, 

238. 
Chester,    Eldredge,     188, 

237,  238,  239. 
Chester,  E.  Starr,  238. 
Chester,  Frederic,  240. 
Chester,  Jedediah,  240. 
Chester,  Jeremiah,  240. 
Chester,  John,  2^7. 
Chester,   Sarah  Eldredge 

237- 


hester,  Samuel,  237,  238. 
Chester,      Thomas,     187, 

188,  237. 

Hark,  Elizabeth,  136. 
Hark,  John,  68,  72,   136, 

206,  247. 

Clinton,    Sir    Henry,     n, 
12,    14,    20,  37,   84,  96, 
98,  104,  in,  165. 
oit,  Elias,  249. 
oit,  John,  65,  67. 
oit,  Oliver,  13. 
loit,  Capt.  William,  63. 
Comstock,     James,     134, 

211. 

Comstock,  Robert,  211. 
'omstock,  William,  250. 
onverse,  Mr.,  275. 
'ooke,  Joseph  P.,  144. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  II,    12, 

60,  165. 

Covil,    Phillip,    136,  249. 
Covill,  Mary,   136. 
Craigie,     Capt.     George, 

IO2. 

Crary,  Robert,  131,  133. 

Daboll,  John,  50,  231. 
Daboll,  John,  Jr.,  122. 
Daboll,  Nathan,  231. 
Dalrymple,   Lord,  37,  96, 

104,  112. 

Danforth,  Mrs.,  230. 
Darrow,  Betsey  Bill,  231. 
Darrow,  Major,  66. 
Dart,  Elias,  229. 
Dart,  Levi,  143,  228,  229. 
Daunt,     Lieut.     Thomas, 

102. 

Davis,  Daniel,  93,  250. 
Denison,  Captain  George, 

263. 

Denison,  Phebe,  254. 
Deshon,   Capt.  John,   62, 

126,  146,  147,  236. 
Deshon,  Captain  Richard, 

63,  65. 
Downer,   Dr.    Avery    (M. 

D.),  10,  56,  83,  88,  223. 
Downer,  Dr.  Joshua,  T 

88. 
Durkee,  Lieutenant,   229. 

Edgecomb,  Daniel  D.,  50. 
Edgecomb,  Gilbert,  51. 
Edgecomb,    Samuel,    Jr., 

38,  5°.  5'.  93.  122,  241. 
Edwards,  Peirpont,  220. 
Eldredge,  Ensign  Charles, 

38,   122,   129,   242,  243, 

244. 
Ekhidge,  Daniel,  Jr.,  122. 


Eklridge,  Daniel,  51,  130, 

243.  244- 

Eldridge,  William,  243. 

Ellis,  Captain,  25. 

Eyre,  Lieut. -Colonel  Ed 
mond,  19,  31,  32,  33,  37, 
47,  49,  70,  85,  86, 90,  94, 
95,  98,  100,  101,  102, 

112,  166,  167,  169. 

Faden,  William,  275. 
Fellows.  Col.  John,  70. 
Fish,  Ebenezer,  234. 
Fitch,  Thomas,  67,  77. 
Ford,  Gordon  L.,  II,  287. 
Fosclick,  Thomas  Updike, 

59- 

Fox,  Jonathan,  208. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  108. 
Franklin,  Phrebe,  244. 
Franklin,    Gov.    William, 

108. 
Freeman,  Jordan,  91,  102, 

241,  285. 
Frink,  Captain,  99. 

Gage,  General,  12. 
Gallop,  John,  225. 
Gallup,  Andrew,  20,  35, 

40,  130,  215,  224,  235. 
Gallup,  Col.  Benadam,  87, 

225. 

Gallup,  Esther,  259. 
Gallup,  Capt.  Joseph,  255. 
Gallup,  Col.   Nathan,  87, 

113,  115,  225. 
Gallup,  Robert,  225. 
Gallup,  Thomas,  225. 
Gardner,  Samuel,  67. 
Gates,  Genera],  255,  283. 
Gordon,  James,  139. 
Gordon,  William,   D.  D., 

169,  170,  171. 
Gorton,  Collins,  275. 
Grasse,  Count  de,  12. 
Green,  Col.  Samuel,  85. 
Green,   Timothy,    21,   81, 

85,  126. 
Greene,  General,  12. 

Hale,  F.  M.,  107. 

Hale,  Captain  Nathan,  58, 

59- 

Hale,  Hon.  Nathan,  275. 

Hallabord,  Hannah.  See 
Hurlbnrt. 

Hallam,  Edward,  122. 

Hallebard,  Rufus.  See 
Hurlburt. 

Halsey,  Capt.  Elias  Hen 
ry,  21,  33,  260. 

Hammersley,  W.  I.,  285. 


Index. 


397 


Harding,  Jeremiah,  143. 
Hardy,  Commodore,  278. 
Harris,  Lieut. -Col.  Joseph, 

62,  66,  67,  76,  77,  116, 

117. 

Harris,  W.  W.,  8,  29,  35. 
Kartell,  John,  8. 
Haven,  Henry  P.,  182. 
Havens,  Captain,  120. 
Havens,  Glorianna,  243. 
Hempstead,   Mary  Lewis, 

60. 

Hempstead,  Robert,  58. 
Hempstead,    Stephen,    9, 

21,  47,  56-  57.   58,   59, 

DO,  86,    130,    222,  257. 

Hempstead,  William,  63, 

68,  69. 
Hempsted,  John,    10,    58, 

61,  66,  1 1 6. 
Hempsted,  Samuel  B.,  07, 

223,  224. 

Hertell,  Thomas,  8,  70,  73. 
Hill,  Esther,  t37. 
Hill,    Samuel,    137,    249, 

290. 

Hillhouse,  Major,  127. 
Hinman,  Captain,  232. 
Holdridge,  lienajah,  237. 
Hollister,  108. 
Holt,  David,  65. 
Holt,  John,  68,   136,   146, 

147,  206,  236. 
Holt,  Martha,  136. 
Horndon,      William     H., 

107. 

Hosford,  Elizabeth,  241. 
Hotman,      William       (or 

Stillman),  291. 
Hubbell,  Hez,  144. 
Hubbil,  Major,  108. 
Huntington,  Levi,  233. 
Hurlburt,  John,  233. 
Hurlburt,  Kufus,  137,  195, 

233- 
Hyde,  Thomas,  102. 

Jaques,  Samuel  W.,  236. 

{ones,  Eliday,  250. 
ones,  Esther,   138. 
/ones,  Moses,  138,  197. 
Jones,  Paul,  232. 
Vudd,  Daniel,  140. 
Judd,  Jehial,  131,  140. 

Kenson,  Benoni,  248. 
Kilburn,  143. 
Kinne,  Aaron,  247. 
Kinney,  Barney,  249. 
Kirtland,  235. 

Lamb,  Thomas,  225. 


Larnard,  Amasa,  126. 
Latham,  Christopher,  34, 

132,  233. 
Latham,  Captain  Edward, 

34,  122. 
Latham,     Jonathan,    240, 

241,  258. 
Latham,  Lambo,  241,242, 

285,  286. 
Latham,  Captain  William, 

13,  30,  44,  93,  142,  143, 
144,  145,  219,  227,  233, 
241,  242,  255,  256,  257, 
292. 

Latham,    Lieut.    William, 

258. 

Latham,  William,  Jr.,  227. 
Lalhrop,  Elisha,  131,  132. 
Lathrop,  Rufus,  122. 
Latimer,  Col.  Daniel,  67. 
Latimer,  Ensign    Daniel, 

115. 
Latimer,    Col.    Jonathan, 

Latimer,    Picket,    67,   82, 

109. 

Ledyard,  Anna,  135. 
Ledyard,  Bridget,  135. 
Ledyard,     Ebenezer,     41, 

54,  120,  239,  257,  276, 

277. 
Ledyard,    Elizabeth    Sal- 

tonstall,  212. 
Ledyard,  Miss  Fanny,  55. 
Ledyard,  Isaac,  212. 
Ledyard,  John,  55,  257. 
Ledyard,    Col.     William, 

14,  16,  17,19,  22,30,31, 
32,  34,  35,36,37,39,44, 
49,  52,  53,  54,  55-  72,  73- 
84,  86,  87,  91,  92,93,95, 
'°3.   I25-  '35-  '46,  163, 
164,  165,  168,  169.   170, 

'71,   173,  '74,  I75>  '78, 
184,  185,  186,  187,  190, 

212,  213,  214,    215,  2l6, 

221,  222,  223,    224,  228, 

232,  241,  256,    257,  258, 

262,  275,  276,    285,  286, 
287,  288,  291.  298. 

Leeds,   Capt   Gary,   122, 

138,  234. 

Leeds,  Jerusha,  138. 
Leffingwell,  Benajah,  117. 
Lemoine,  Capt.,  104,  107. 
Lester,  Amos,  258,  259. 
Lester,  Daniel  B.,  250. 
Lester,  Daniel,  247. 
Lester,  Dorithy,  137. 
Lester,    John,    137,     199, 

223,  234,  250. 
Lester,  Jonas,  250. 


Lester,  Mary  Allyn,  247. 
Lester,  Thomas,  193,  247. 
Lester,    Wait,    193,    247, 

250. 

Lewis,  Charles  A.,  24. 
Lewis,  Deborah,  135. 
Lewis,  Joseph,  135,  200, 

259- 

Mackenzie,  Fred,  112. 
Malley,  Michael,  62. 
Mallison,  Thomas,  237. 
Manwarring,    Robert,   65, 

67. 

Martin,  Colonel,  no. 
Mason,  Andrew,  225. 
Mason,  Henry,  236. 
Mason,  Japhet,  215,  222. 
Mason,  John,  225. 
Mason,  Nehemiah,  225. 
Mather,  Hon.  J.  P.  C.,85- 
Mathews,  Mayor,  108. 
McCarty,  Capt.  John,  67. 
McClanan,  Colonel.     See 

McLellan. 
McClaning,  Col.  Samuel. 

See  McLellan. 
McLellan,    Gen.    George 

B,  17. 
McLellan,   Col.     Samuel, 

17,   87,    123,    125,    127, 

142,  147. 
Middleton,   Mai.    George, 

8,89. 
Middleton,  Rev.  John  C., 

8. 

Mifflin,  General,  43. 
Miller,  Esq.,  65. 
Miller,  Jeremiah,  100,288. 
Millet,  Captain,  99,  112. 
Mills,  Edward,  137,  249. 
Mills,  Hannah,  137. 
Minard,     Thomas.       See 

Thomas  Miner. 
Miner,  Abigail,  231. 
Miner,  Clement,  225. 
Miner,  Mrs.  Minerva,  234. 
Miner,  Rebecca,  137. 
Miner,  Thomas,  137,   191, 

225. 

Minor,  Jonathan,  143. 
Mitchell,  S.  M.,  14-^,  144. 
Mitchell,     Col.     William, 

241. 

Monroe,  President,  265. 
Montgomery,    Major,    19, 

3',  33,34,35.49.71,85, 

86,  91,  92,  102,  167,  169, 

241,  291. 

Moore,  Elizabeth,  139. 
Moore,  Capt.  Nathan,  39, 

93,  139,  227. 


398 


Index. 


Moore,  Mrs.  Nathan,  227. 
Morgan,  Dr.  Klisha,  247, 

248. 

Morgan,  Isaac,  122. 
Morgan,  Capt.  John,  115. 
Morgan,   John,    93,    122, 

129,  248. 
Morgan,  Captain  Joseph, 

234- 

Morgan,  Joseph,  3d,  234. 
Morgan,  Simeon,  198,  234. 
Moseley,     Increase,    128, 

133.  MO. 
Mott,   Samuel,   122,    131, 

'32.  '33- 

Moxley,  Elizabeth,   135. 
Moxley,  Joseph,  135,  198, 

240. 

Moxley,  Joseph,  Jr.,  241. 
Mumforcl,  David,  126. 
Mumford,  Katherine,  288. 
Mumford,    Thomas,    127, 

276,  287,  288. 

Newberry,   Brig.  -  General 

Roger,  88,  113. 
Noyes,  Capt.  Peleg,  255. 

Owen,  John,  247. 

Palmer,  Abigail,   138. 
Palmer,   David,   93,    138, 

200. 

Payne,  Esq.,  277. 
Perkins,  Abigail,  134, 139. 
Perkins,   Amanda  Wood- 
worth,  289. 
Perkins,    Asa,    137,    192, 

245. 

Perkins,  Ebenezer,  246. 
Perkins,  Elisha,  139,  193, 

245,  246. 

Perkins,  Elizabeth,  137. 
Perkins,    Elnathan,     191, 

235,  244,  245,  246,  290. 
Perkins,  Jabez,  121. 
Perkins,  John  E.,  246. 
Perkins,  Capt.  Levi,  245. 
Perkins,  Luke,  49,  73,  134, 

192,  244,  246,  290. 
Perkins,    Luke,     Jr.,    49, 

134,  244,  245,  290. 
Perkins,  Margaret,  134. 
Perkins,   Lieut.   Obadiah, 

142,  245,  246,  290. 
Perkins,  Kussel,  246. 
Perkins,  Sarah,  139,  246. 
Perkins,  Simeon,  193,245, 

246. 
Perkins,    Capt.    Solomon, 

129,  245,  246. 
Peters,  Major,  93. 


Peters,  Rev.  Samuel  A.,  6 
Pettibone,  143. 
Phelps,  Ch.,  139. 
Pigot,  Sir  Robert,  98. 
Prentice,  Amos,  14. 
Prentice,  Captain,  255. 
Prentis,  John,  226. 
Prentiss,  Dr.,  84. 
Prior,  Elisha,  122. 

Rainforth,  William,  102. 
Ramsay,  Daniel,  169. 
Ramsay,  David,  170,  171. 
Rathbun,  Jonathan,  9,  29 
Raymond,  Samuel,  287. 
Rich,  Captain,  102. 
Richards,     Catharine 

Mumford,  139,  233. 
Richards,  Elijah,  146,  233. 
Richards,  Guy,  232. 
Richards,  Guy,  Jr.,  126. 
Richards,  Major,  66. 
Richards,  Capt.  Peter,  51, 

139,  210,  232,  287,  288. 
Robert,  David,  67. 
Robinson,    Col.    Beverly, 

98. 

Rogers,  Colonel,  80. 
Rogers,  Col.  Zabdiel,  116, 

287,  288. 
Rosseter,  Elnathan,  282. 
Rowley,  Isaac,  143. 
Rude,     Louisa     Sanford, 

222,  223. 
Russel,  Col.  Edward,  127, 

128. 

Sage,  Col.  Comfort,  127, 
128. 

Saltonstall,  Captain  Dud 
ley,  237. 

Saltonstall,  G.,  126. 

Saltonstall,  Captain  Na 
thaniel,  58,  63,  76. 

Saltonstall,  Roswell,  118, 
119. 

Saltonstall,  Wint.,  126. 

Sanford,  Daniel,  222. 

Sanford,  Holsey,  215,  222, 
223. 

Schuyler,  General,  283, 
284. 

Scott,  Captain,  43. 

Scott,  John,  220. 

Scovill,  Mr.,  93. 

Seabury,  Bishop,  249. 

Seabury,  David,  136,  249. 

Seabury,  Elizabeth,  136. 

Searle,  Miriam  Sanford, 
223. 

Seymour,  Capt.  William, 
S3.  298. 


Seymour,  Governor,  285. 

Shapley,  Capt.  Adam,  13, 
31,  32,  47,48,49,51,52, 
82,  86,91,  143,  144,  145, 
146,  207,  226,  228,  250, 
258,  260,  292. 

Shapley,      Mary     Harris, 

,  139- 

Shaw,  Captain  Nathaniel, 

43- 

Shaw,  Thomas,  126,  238. 
Sliippen,  Dr.,  219. 
Sholes,  Nathan,  138,  249. 
Sholes,  Susannah,  138. 
Smith,  George,  64. 
Smith,  James,  67. 
Smith,  Josiah,  48,  143,  229. 
Smith,  Maj.   Simeon,  278. 
Smith,  William  H.,  102. 
Southworth,  Constant, 

263. 
Southworth,    Sir   Gilbert, 

263. 

Southworth,  Mary,  263. 
Spicer,  Capt.  Abel,  255. 
St.  John,  Colonel,  143. 
Stanton,  Capt.  Amos,  32, 

86,  88,  136,  262,  263. 
Stanton,  Daniel,  122,  133, 

210,  261,  263,  264. 
Stanton,  David,  264. 
Stanton,  Edward,  122,  130, 

131,  236,  264,  265. 
Stanton,  Enoch,  38,  138, 

210,  263,  279,  280,  281. 
Stanton,    Capt.    Phineas, 

210,  263. 

Stanton,  Thankful,  136. 
Stanton,     Thomas,     261, 

263. 
Stanton,  Waity,  138,  279, 

281. 

Stanton,  William,  261. 
Starr,  Hannah,  138. 
Starr,  John,  122,  129,  227. 
Starr,  Mrs.  Nicholas,  251. 
Starr,  Nicholas,  138,  194, 

227. 

Starr,  Thomas,  226. 
Starr,   Thomas,   Jr.,    194, 

227. 
Starr,  Lieut.  William,  226, 

227. 
Stedman,  John,  134,  249, 

255- 

Stedman,  Sarah,  134. 
Steel,  Captain,  42. 
Stow,  Jabez,  142, 143, 144, 

229. 
Strong,  Jedediah,  122. 

Thomas,  Captain,  42,  no. 


Index. 


399 


Thompson,       Lieutenant, 

255- 

Throop,  Colonel,  143 
Tift,  Nelson,  250. 
Tift,  Solomon,  250. 
Tilley,  James,  loo. 
Tracey,  Dr.  Elisha,  216. 
Trumbull,    Governor,    6, 

16,   127,   162,  164,  217, 

275,  288,  298. 
Turner,  Humphrey,  2:6. 
Turner,  Dr.  John,  220. 
Turner,   Dr.  Phillip,   140, 

216,  217,  218,  219,  288. 

Upham,     Lieutenant-Col 
onel,  108,  109. 

Van  Buskirk,  Alexander, 
102,  264. 

Wadsworth,  Finn,  145. 
Wait,  John  Turner,  216. 
Wait,  Marvin,  126. 
Wales,  Horatio,  145. 
Walworth,  Sarah,  135. 
Walworth,    Sylvester,  93, 

'35.  24S. 

Ward,  Experience,  139. 
Ward,    Patrick,   93,    139, 

202. 

Warner,  Anna,  277. 
Washington,  General,  II, 

I2-  '5.  59.73.  '62>  "70, 

219,  221,  257,    282,    283, 

284, 297. 

Watson,  Captain,  103 
Way,  Mr.,  69. 
Wayne,  General,  73. 
Webb,  Colonel,  58. 


Webster,  Noah,  n. 
Wedger,  Joseph,  250. 
Welles,  Thomas,  247. 
Whaley,  Jonathan,  68. 
Wheeler,  Joshua,  251. 
Wheeler,  Capt.   Thomas, 

"5- 

Whittelsey,     John,     134, 

260,  261. 

Whittelsey,  Joseph,  261. 
Whittelsey,  Lucy,  134. 
Whittelsey,  Stephen,  260, 

261. 
Williams,    Amey    Hewitt, 

213- 

Williams,  Anna,  213, 
Williams,  Capt.   Charles, 

211. 
Williams,      Daniel,     211, 

235- 
Williams,     Eliza     Avery, 

256. 

Williams,  Eunice,  137. 
Williams,    Capt.    Henry, 

206. 
Williams,    Lieut.    Henry, 

88,  137,  206,  241. 
Williams,  John,  281. 
Williams,  Capt.  John,  32, 

134,  189,  235,  291. 
Williams,     Lieut.      John, 

115. 

Williams,  Mary,  136. 
Williams,  Nathaniel,  213. 
Williams,  Sanford,  131. 
Williams,  Seth,  206. 
Williams,  Theoda,   134. 
Williams,    Thomas,    136, 

205,  236. 
Williams,  Warham,  117. 


Williams,    William,    121, 

276. 

Willock,  Archibald,  102. 
Winthrop,    Francis,    119, 

120. 

Winthrop,  Governor,  120. 
Winthrop,  Robert,  120, 

284,  285. 
Witter,    Capt.    Ebenezer, 

115. 
Wogan,     Capt.     Samuel, 

102. 
Wolcott,  Simon,  126,  145, 

146. 

Wood,  Eunice,  258. 
Wood,  Mary,  258. 
Wood,  Sarah,  245. 
Wood,  William,  245. 
Woodbridge,  Christopher, 

136,  191. 
Woodbridge,  Henry,  139, 

192. 
Woodbridge,  Michael, 

'39- 

Woodbridge,  Sarah,  136. 
Woodmansee,  Joseph,  93, 

122,   129. 

Woodworth,  Azel  or  Asa- 

hel,  219,  221,  289 
Woodworth,       Benjamin, 

121,  289. 
Woodworth,   Joseph    El- 

lery,  221. 

Woodworth,  Phoebe,  221. 
Woodworth,  Samuel,  289. 
Woodworth,  Thomas,  221. 
Woodworth,  Zibe,  130, 

221,  289. 
Wylis,  George,   122,  128, 

133,  140,  143,  144,  145. 


"  And  here  will  J  make  an  end.  And  if  I  have  done  well,  and  as  is  fitting  the 
story,  it  is  that  which  I  desired ;  but  if  slenderly  and  meanly,  it  is  that  which  I 
could  attain  unto."  —  MACCABEES. 


ERRATA. 
Page  23  r,  for  "Sarah  Halsey,"  read"  Sarah  Haley." 


